There weren't too many surprises in the Real lineup. Pepe is not fully back to form yet, so it didn't surprised me that he started on the bench. The rest made sense.
Sir Alex really shook it up. 4 attacking players is more than I've seen him use, well...ever! Welbeck was the biggest surprise. Kagawa was also a surprise considering he has played so little, but I understood what Sir Alex was thinking...speed. He wasn't going to win the battle in midfield, but if he could put threats out there for the counter he forced Real to stay a little honest.
Fabio's early chance was revealed to be a fantastic save by De Gea. I think the game would have been much different if Real struck first considering how un-confident Man U looked early.
The Man U goal really had to give them a good feeling in the pit of their stomach. It's an away goal, which counts for more. It meant that Real had to score twice to get the lead and that Man U could be a little more conservative.
Unfortunately for Man U a wonderful cross lead to a great header by Ronaldo. Most people will remember this header, but on a whole Ronaldo was held in check. That in itself was a huge story that I thought has been really undersold in the press. He did get a goal, but he didn't cause the havoc he can at times.
The game changed in the second half. I think Sir Alex knew he had to protect for a draw and got more conservative on defense. Real didn't have too many golden chances, but the one that comes to mind for me was when Ozil got very deep in the box and chose to cross to a well covered Ronaldo. I think he needed to be more selfish in that spot and shoot.
Man U seemed to have some good opportunities in the first few minutes and the final ten when a good counter finally developed, but Xabi Alonso, who had been MIA to that point, saved one off the line to keep it 1-1.
There were two things that stuck out to me in the second half. Real had the ball just above the area for massive amounts of time, but didn't do anything dangerous with it. They had no ability to create a pass and every Sammy Kedihra shot from distance was like conceding we would rather be running at you than passing around you. With all of Real's world class talent they should be able to put in some dangerous chances, but for the most part they were very poor and couldn't create anything. They really have become a counter attacking team that loves to run down hill at teams. When they have all that space Ronaldo can stretch his legs and Bezema becomes a real handful.
Last night Man U parked the bus in the second half and clogged up all the good real estate, which seemed to frustrate Real and that lead to countless shots wasted over the top of goal or easy saves for De Gea. For the most part Man U were weak on the counter save a few good runs, but they were the opposite squeezing down the space and frustrating Real.
This was the point when I wanted to send a search party out for Alonso. He should have been pouring diagonal balls into the box and creating havoc. It was certainly a better option than shooting from distance.
The other thing that stuck out to me was the substitutions by Real. They got worse and worse. The first was to remove Bezema for Hugian. Bezema was certainly playing very quietly and not able to do much in the congested area in front of goal, but I still prefer him over Hugian because of his size and ability to turn on a ball at the top of the box. I think Jose was trying to shake things up as he makes this sub all the time when Benzema isn't doing much, but Hugian is a player that does well going down hill and isn't particularly known for his great passing in tight spots.
The second was Modric for Di Maria. The idea of bringing Modric is that he can pass in those smaller spaces and he should have plenty of time on the ball with Man U sitting back, but I always favor form over all factors. Modric has just been in awful form. Famously tripping over the ball against Barca numerous times. I just didn't like inserting him into the game and removing Di Maria. Modric played a good ball or two, but taking out Di Maria relieved some of the pressure on Man U.
The third sub Pepe for Alonso. Alonso was a virtual non-factor, but Pepe is more of a backline defender so he basically wasn't going to help the attack going forward. Alonso was also rumored to be hurt. Real weakened their attack with back to back subs against a team that was laying back playing for the draw.
The pitch also seemed to be very slick with numerous players on both sides losing their footing on more than one occasion.
I think the tie is now Man U's to lose. Real might feel they are bound to score goals, but I don'l like their chances as much now headed back to England. I was left with two lingering questions. Has Jose Mo damaged his team emotionally? If Man U has to drop back that much against Real how would they look against Barca or Bayern? They are the best England has to offer, but for the most part they got bossed around the pitch last night.
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