With both away sides securing 2-0 first-leg victories in the Champions League semi-finals this week it looks likely that Manchester United will face Barcelona in the final on May 28. Real Madrid and Schalke might have other ideas but the prospect of a United vs Barca clash is something to whet the appetite – so will the ‘dream’ final happen? (Barcelona 8/15 to win Champions League).
United stuttered their way through the first half of the season and it left a lot of people scratching their heads that they were still at the top of the Premier League table without really hitting their straps.
But their form has picked up in recent months and the first-leg victory over the Germans was one of the best performances by the Red Devils for a long time and they could have scored four or five but for the brilliance of keeper Manuel Neuer.
Led by a resurgent Wayne Rooney, United’s passing and movement off the ball was first class and it looked like men against boys at times.
Can Schalke come back and spoil United’s dream of a third final in four years? Not if they repeat Tuesday’s display, but it is unlikely that they will play that badly again (Schalke 14/1 to qualify for final).
The Bundesliga side defended poorly and the same display at Old Trafford could lead to an embarrassing scoreline.
However, the Schalke players only have to cast their memories back a few weeks to the quarter-finals when they went to the San Siro and beat a decent Inter Milan side 5-2 before completing the job back at the Veltins-Arena.
That result will give them hope that they can turn things around at the Theatre of Dreams on May 4 but they will face a United side who appear to be peaking at just the right time.
Sir Alex Ferguson is a master at getting his tactics spot on and he will know exactly what to do when the men from Gelsenkirchen come calling.
If Schalke’s job seems difficult then Real’s task looks like Mission Impossible and they do not possess Tom Cruise in their side (Madrid 11/1 to qualify for final).
Wednesday’s disjointed, feisty encounter at the Bernabeu was only really ignited by the brilliance of Lionel Messi, who is now being mentioned in the same breath as Pele and Diego Maradona.
The 23-year-old’s two goals highlighted how important he is to the Catalans and, while they might possess world-class players throughout the side, the Argentinian is a cut above anyone else at present.
Real boss Jose Mourinho could well be in hot water for his post-match comments and he is clearly never going to get over his obsession with Barcelona and the perceived injustices of playing against them.
But if anyone can pull off the impossible then the Portuguese tactician is the man. The trouble is he will probably be sitting in the stands after being red-carded during the first-leg encounter.
Mourinho builds his side around a solid defence and his tactics would have been to get to the Nou Camp on level terms at worst, but Pepe’s sending off changed everything and Real will now have to go into the second leg with an attacking mindset.
However, it seems inconceivable that Barca will not score in their own backyard and Madrid are not the sort of side that will be able to score three times away from home.
Therefore it may need the moon to be a shade of blue for United and Barcelona not to progress to Wembley at the end of May and that would be a fitting finale to the season as, on current form, they are clearly the best two sides in Europe.
Barca may possess the best player on the planet but in Ferguson, United have their own trump card.
The veteran Scot will be out to set the record straight after losing out to the Spanish giants in the 2009 final and what better place to do it than at Wembley?
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