Dusk: A Peach In The Orchard

Some words used to describe Ronaldo's strike which set us on the road to the Champions League Semi-Final, "exquisite improbability," "truly preposterous," "sublime," "an absolute peach, a stupendous strike," "one of the grandest goals in the annals of the Champions League," "a bolt of fork lightning." It wasn't bad. And i can't resist putting it in here, despite this being the paper round up ...




I'll get my quibbles out of the way first. The player ratings in The Independent are stupid. Ian Herbert has this to say:

United had the restored Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic to thanks in large measure, Cristiano Ronaldo also answered his manager's call to arms with a quite scintillating fifth-minute strike which divided the teams. Fittingly, Ferdinand, Vidic and Ronaldo were the first three to grasp each other in sheer relief in the Portuguese drizzle when it was over.

And yet the player ratings give Vidic and Ronaldo a 6... And Rooney gets a mere 7, while Giggs gets an 8 (and I don't begrudge the 8, but if Giggs deserves an 8 then so does Rooney). No wonder I generally tend to avoid player ratings...
A minor quibble - this story in The Sun includes this sentence:

The Portuguese star — dubbed ‘The Winker’ after his exploits at the 2006 World Cup — hit a sixth-minute stunner

Why insert that middle bit? It's nonsensical...
Other story I'll include in the quibbles, because it's become so tiresome, is Roman Calderon rearing his head again with his claims about an agreement between Real and Ronaldo - let it go, you're not even President anymore...
That's enough of that. Onto the good stuff.
The best report comes from Kevin McCarra in The Guardian:

The outcome is therapeutic for holders who are now in better shape to make a successful defence of the Champions League, even if they will have to deal with a reviving Arsenal in a semi-final whose first leg is at Old Trafford. United appear gradually to be regaining authority, and spectacle was confined last night to the remarkable long-range goal from Cristiano Ronaldo in the sixth minute.

The Portuguese, stripped to the waist, was almost the last player to leave the field at full-time. This occasion in his homeland clearly had resonance for him, and Sir Alex Ferguson must have incorporated that factor in his scheming, since Ronaldo was given the key post of lone striker.

United flaunted maturity by imposing control. Nemanja Vidic may have headed away several crosses in the second half but it is hard to bring to mind vivid images of Edwin van der Sar pulling off a taxing save. One of Porto's spasmodic moments of clarity did leave Cristian Rodríguez with a real opportunity in the 25th minute but his shot asked little of the goalkeeper.

This was a cool sort of triumph. United were, however, masters of their own fate again. After conceding 11 goals in their previous five games, resilience was resurgent. Rio Ferdinand's comeback from injury contributed but dramatic exploits were never essential. Perhaps his presence ­simply spreads confidence in the ranks.

He does a good job in the rest of it of emphasising our control while pointing out the risks of the one-nil lead, without over doing the threat which Porto posed, a trap several reports fall into, yes they had periods of pressure, and yes it was nervous at times, but we came out deserved winners and Porto created few real chances.
Something that David Pleat puts down to the discipline of the team and, in particular, of Rooney:

His brief was to be a workaholic winger – there were to be no ill-advised gestures, no retaliations to provocation, and no flashes of immaturity on a night which he began one booking from suspension. What United got was 90 minutes of great endeavour from the forward as he covered and filled spaces, always keeping an eye on Porto's impressive left-back, Aly Cissokho, who ventured forward at every opportunity.

Rooney never stood still; his appetite to help his colleagues when possession changed hands was admirable for all to see. Furthermore, he never lost his concentration, never dozed, and was always alive to get into a position to deny Cissokho a clear run down the flank when Porto ferried the ball wide (see diagram). Cristiano Ronaldo will get much praise for his staggering goal, but it was the discipline of the United side – and Rooney in particular – that saw the visitors through a relatively tricky tie.

On The Guardian Blog Dan Smyth has praise for Berbatov, who in other reports, is the easy target for lazy journalists, and Anderson:

The key figure was Berbatov, who had perhaps the best game of his fledgling Old Trafford career. As well as adding an obvious class to the build-up, he added a certainty and, crucially, a calmness that United have missed in recent weeks. Berbatov's heart would not skip a beat if you dropped a marmot in the bath, so a European Cup quarter-final was never going to faze him.

The same was true of Anderson, who stomped around his old ground with a rousing fearlessness. Porto's midfield triumvarate of Raul Meireles, Fernando and Lucho had dominated Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes to an embarrassing degree for much of the first leg, but Anderson fronted them up and ran the first half.

The Mirror also praises our calmness and discipline:

Fergie's men displayed the discipline and determination of European champions, refusing to panic when they came under sustained pressure towards the end, knowing a Porto equaliser would send them out on away goals.

There was a calm assurance about the way United began last night, Ronaldo exuding confidence at the apex of an attacking quartet, supported by Rooney to his right, Ryan Giggs to his left and Dimitar Berbatov tucked in behind him.

There was none of the slapdash wastefulness of a week earlier, when they gifted Porto a lastminute equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, which left Fergie's men no margin for error in the Estadio do Dragao.

James Ducker in The Times really doesn't have a clue:

would United have won this game without the Fifa World Player of the Year? With Dimitar Berbatov again flattering to deceive and Wayne Rooney looking unhappy marooned on the right-hand side, it is doubtful.

Henry Winter's report in The Telegraph is pretty good:

Here was the performance that Ferguson had demanded, brimming with organisation, adventure and an appreciation of the need not to concede possession. Ahead on aggregate, United remained acutely aware of the reality that a Porto goal swung the tie back in the hosts’ favour.
So they hunted stealthily for a second.

Martin Samuelin The Mail isn't bad:

In that one moment the myth of Porto's impregnability became just more history for Manchester United. Porto had played 12 matches against English opposition here, winning five and drawing seven, but from the moment Ronaldo scored, United were in control, their immense European experience coming swiftly to the fore.

Only when Nani came on for a substitute appearance that would be most generously described as esoteric did United possess a player who did not understand precisely what was required.

By the time Nani came on I was too nervous about the game to really notice what type of performance he put in, so I can't comment on the harshness or otherwise of this criticism.
To the quotes, first off Ronaldo:

"To be honest, playing up front is not my favourite position, but if I have to try a few times maybe I will learn more.

"The boss has put me there and it is not a problem for me to play as striker, left-winger or right-winger.''

"Sometimes we are disappointed by the decision, and sometimes our opponents are, but we must respect the ref.''

And more:

“I think it’s the best goal I’ve ever scored,” he said. “I didn’t know it was 65mph — wow! When Anderson gave me the ball, I thought I’d just turn and shoot. We haven’t played great the last five games but I hope this will change all that. To play Arsenal is a fantastic tie.”

Sir Alex:

"I'd need to go into the memory bank to find a better goal. It was a great, great strike - sensational.

"But Ronaldo is always a threat, that's the great thing about him.

"We played him up front because he's the quickest player we have and, by using him in that role, we could stretch their defence.

"Rio Ferdinand coming back made a big difference to us. He's been one of the foundations on which our success has been built this season.''

And on Arsenal:

“You’ll see two good football teams and, with an all-British flavour, it’ll certainly give a different kind of spice to it. I’d be happy to win 1-0 at home as that gives you something to build on to take into the second leg. It won’t be easy, though.
“Our game earlier in the season [Arsenal’s 2-1 Barclays Premier League victory at the Emirates Stadium on November 8] was fantastic. It was the way football should be played and we will look forward to it.”

And Carrick:

"Obviously it's a tough place to come and get a result, but we knew it was in our hands.

"We really fancied ourselves to come and score here and defend right. It was a good team performance all round and we're delighted to go through.

"To get the early goal was a big bonus and from then on, I thought we were in control.

"They came at us, which you'd expect, but we defended very well, even though it was still on a knife-edge.

"From going through, all of a sudden you can be going out, so we were well aware of that and knew we had to defend right to the final whistle. I thought we did that very well."