A brace from Wayne Rooney sealed a 4-0 victory and an emphatic 7-2 aggregate scoreline as Manchester United romped past Milan at Old Trafford to clinch their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Rooney gave United the lead in just the 13th minute with a sublime glancing header, and the England forward netted his 30th goal of the season with a deft finish seconds after half-time to stun the visitors.
David Beckham was confined to the Milan bench from the outset, but the former United midfielder had to wait until his side were 3-0 down before he was introduced after Park Ji-Sung slammed a fierce shot beyond Christian Abbiati just before the hour-mark.
Darren Fletcher capped an imperious display from the English champions with a fourth goal in the 88th minute, and Milan and Beckham were left utterly shell-shocked at the final whistle.
Rooney almost gave the hosts the lead in the fourth minute as he swivelled on the edge of the Milan box to latch on to Antonio Valencia's cut back and fired a low shot which he dragged narrowly wide of Christian Abbiati's near post.
Milan were hardly subdued at the other end, as Andrea Pirlo whipped over a devilish delivery in the eighth minute which Nani inadvertently flicked over to Ronaldinho, but the Brazilian's header drifted narrowly wide.
Two minutes later, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who flanked Marco Borriello along with Ronaldinho, stole in at the back post beyond Patrice Evra to receive Thiago Silva's raking diagonal pass from the back, but his first touch was sloppy as the ball evaded him.
Neville was preferred to Rafael at right-back for United, and Sir Alex Ferguson's decision was vindicated as the skipper picked out Rooney with a pinpoint cross from the right as United stamped their authority on the match in the 13th minute.
Rooney's exquisitely-timed run caught Daniele Bonera napping as the forward climbed above his marker to glance a deft finish beyond a helpless Abbiati and score his third headed goal in the tie.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Manchester United demolish Milan by four
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Labels: UEFA Champions League
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