Rather than Cristiano Ronaldo scoring at Old Trafford and Ryan Giggs making his 1000th senior appearance, Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir made sure that his decision to show Manchester United’s Nani a red card will hog the headlines as Real Madrid advanced to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-2 aggregate win.
An first half full of chances for both teams was followed by Sergio Ramos’ 48th minute own goal before the referee decided to send off Nani for an apparent high boot on Arvalo Arbeloa. The tide of the match completely changed and goals from Luka Modric and Ronaldo capped a fantastic run of form for Real Madrid — with two wins against Barcelona and one against United in quick succession.
Apart from the red card, Wayne Rooney’s exclusion from the starting line-up was the other talking point — especially after his performance against Norwich on the weekend.
Nani and Arbeloa both went for an aerial ball, with the United winger going in with a slight high boot. Both players went down injured, and as soon as Nani was on his feet, the referee brandished the red card — triggering Alex Ferguson to rush towards the fourth official for an explanation. Replays showed that Nani was clearly going for the ball, with no intent of harming Arbeloa. At the end of the match, it was reported that ‘dangerous foul play’ was the explanation given by the referee for his decision.
Ronaldo scored on his return to Old Trafford. Getty Images
Even Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho immediately walked up to Scotsman and whispered what seemed like a consoling word, but the damage was done and United were one man down against a better attacking team.
Danny Welbeck and Giggs were the most influential players for the hosts, and it was the former’s poke towards goal that took Ramos by surprise as he managed to bundle the ball into his own net.
United, despite being woefully short of possession compared to their opponents, were looking dangerous on the counter-attack in the first half before the red card brought a halt to any momentum they were gathering.
Mourinho threw on Modric for Arbeloa and the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder struck a lethal shot from the edge of the box which rattled the inside of the post before beating David de Gea. Just a couple of minutes later, Gonzalo Higuain put in a low cross and Ronaldo made no mistake on the far post — sliding in to seal the win and sending his former team mates crashing out of Europe. He did keep his promise of not celebrating on a night where it seemed emotion was getting the better of him.
Ferguson and Giggs tried to rally the Old Trafford faithful, with the 39-year-old Welshman stellar on his 1000th match. His cross in the 83rd minute was met by Michael Carrick’s glancing header, only to be saved by Diego Lopez.
With United pushing men forward, Madrid had their own chances to finish off the match. Kaka hit the post and Ronaldo had a couple of chances which he couldn’t finish. On the other end, Rooney and Van Persie both had chances after a commotion in the penalty area, but the Madrid goalkeeper was having a fine night.
Nemanja Vidic twice rose highest during corners — once in each half — only to hit the post and force a save.
In the first half, Ronaldo had a freekick opportunity inside five minutes which he struck into the wall. Mourinho, who had chosen Gonzalo Higuain over Karim Benzema for the second leg also had an opportunity to work De Gea but his shot was wide as Madrid pressed forward in the opening exchanges.
The home team had a lot of chances in the first half, with one of the best falling to Van Persie. Welbeck held off a challenge on the run and laid it up for Giggs, whose exquisite cross from the outside of his foot perfectly fell to the Dutchman — whose volley was blocked by Ramos.
Rafael, who also cleared off the line in the second half, went down in the box from a Ramos tackle after Carrick, Van Persie and Giggs combined to find him in a crossing position but didn’t get a penalty for his appeals.
Van Persie, who was called a ‘demon’ by the Spanish press in the build-up to the match, was slowly imposing himself with some excellent technique while controlling the ball. First he collected a long ball before putting Welbeck through, but his left-footer was blocked. United’s top scorer was at it again when he expertly chested down Evra’s long ball, before taking a shot from a tight angle. Diego Lopez saved the first shot and was quick to react as Welbeck pounced on the rebound.
Squeezed between the two chances were a succession of Madrid attempts. Ronaldo was put through with a lobbed pass from Sami Khedira, but Vidic was ruthless in his sliding tackle as the Portuguese snapped a shot with his left foot. Higuain also had an opportunity at the near post, but this time it was Carrick who intercepted — almost diverting the ball into his own net.
Angel di Maria, who had an excellent game when the two teams met at the Bernabeu, had to be taken off in the 42nd minute, with Kaka coming in to replace him.
At the final whistle, Mourinho almost seemed dejected with the manner Madrid’s win — clearly an example of how much influence a referee can have on the beautiful game.
While United will think back on whether they could have held on to the lead, Ronaldo and Co will probably hope their luck doesn’t run out.
