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In the first Champions League semi-final match, "Man Utd" showed character, and in a dramatic match, they came from behind to beat "Milan" in the second half, taking control of the game and winning 3-2.
Goals:
5’ [1 – 0] Cristiano Ronaldo
22’ [1 – 1] Kaka
37’ [1 – 2] Kaka
59’ [2 – 2] Wayne Rooney
90+1’ [3 – 2] Wayne Rooney
"Man Utd": E.van der Sar; J.O‘Shea, W.Brown, G.Heinze, P.Evra; D.Fletcher, M.Carrick, P.Scholes; C.Ronaldo, W.Rooney, R.Giggs.
"Milan": Dida; M.Oddo, A.Nesta, P.Maldini (46‘ D.Bonera), M.Jankulovski; G.Gattuso (52‘ C.Brocchi), A.Pirlo, M.Ambrosini, C.Seedorf, Kaka; A.Gilardino (84‘ Y.Gourcuff).
In the beginning of the match, "Man Utd" players struggled with injuries. In the 5th minute, Darren Fletcher intercepted the ball in the middle of the field and passed it excellently to Wayne Rooney, but his shot was blocked by Alessandro Nesta. Cristiano Ronaldo then scored with a header, making it 1-0.
Later, after a pass from W. Rooney, C.Ronaldo headed the ball straight to Dida.
"Milan" had their first serious shot in the 13th minute, when Kaka shot from distance straight to Edwin van der Sar's hands.
... (skipping part) ...
The second half belonged to one team - "Man Utd". Since the first minutes of the second half, "Red Devils" started pressing the opponents. In the 47th minute, M.Carrick had a great opportunity, but he missed the goal from close range.
The equalizer came in the 59th minute - after a great pass from Paul Scholes into the penalty area, W.Rooney found himself one-on-one with Dida and defeated the Brazilian.
Inspired by success, "United" continued to attack. "Milan" goalkeeper had to save multiple shots from D.Fletcher, R.Giggs, and even a clean penalty kick that almost went in. Meanwhile, Italians responded with rare and not dangerous attacks, trying to equalize.
Success smiled upon the hosts in added time. During a quick counterattack, receiving a pass from R.Giggs, W.Rooney struck powerfully and accurately from 20 meters, securing the victory for his team.
Interestingly, Sir Alex Ferguson did not make any substitutions throughout the entire match.
The second leg match in Milan will take place next Wednesday.
Statistics:
Goals 3 - 2
Yellow cards 2 - 2
Red cards 0 - 0
Shots on goal 12 - 8
Shots off target 9 - 5
Corners 16 - 14
Free kicks 10 - 2
Offsides 2 - 2
Ball possession (%) 50 - 50
