United In Semis Via Insane Ronaldo Goal

Porto 0 - Manchester United 1
Scorer
Manchester United: Ronaldo (6)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Vidic, O'Shea, Evra, Carrick, Anderson (Scholes 78), Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov (Nani 68)

I've been sleeping 2hrs daily for the past couple of days and haven't really gotten to get my beauty sleep yet. But duty calls. I'll make this one really brief before I go catch my 40 winks.

Ronaldo added to his collection of crazy, insane United goals last night to carry United into the semi-finals against Arsenal. The goal came early, practically out of absolutely nothing. From a ridiculously far distance from the goal, Ronaldo struck a wondershot that ended it's trajectory inside Porto's net. It was a stunning goal. (Note to self: I need to find a video of the goal and post it here when I have the time and energy)

Porto tried to muster a response but we were playing some really good football, although without really threating to add to the scoreline. Our passing was quick and crisp. I almost forgotten how good we can be. Berbatov, Giggs, Rooney, Anderson and Ronaldo were playing some truely inspired football in midfield.

Porto is a counter-attacking team and did not really trouble Van der Sar. We had the lead and were not allowing Porto to play their brand of football. However, Evra's form continues to go from bad to worse. Everything that Porto had in way of long shots came from the left side of the pitch.

We continued to have the greater and better possession in the 2nd half and really should have end the game as a competition with a 2nd goal. But as it is the entire season, we're still not putting away opponents with any ease. Porto nearly grabbed a desperate leveller at the death had Van der Sar not come to United's rescue.

While it's not a great performance, we played significantly better than we have had in a long long time. The players look like they are starting to click and more importantly, after Fergie's weekend pep talk, Ronaldo seems to be enjoying his football without the constant whining.

There were also good outings by fringe players like Anderson and Nani, who came on as a sub. Playing in Portugal seems to have brought out the best in them. Rooney and Giggs were outstanding and Berbatov seems to have shaken his injuries and playing with more zest.

The downside, however, is that Vidic and Evra still look jittery. Evra seems to have taken a really bad shot at his confidence. He's been pretty bad for a few games and last night's seems to top all of those. If he doesn't find his form soon, we may have to switch O'Shea back to left-back and gamble with Neville playing on the opposite side. It wouldn't look pretty going forward, but there's hopefully enough experience at the back to make up for it.

In any case, it's been a pleasant surprise to win in Porto after last week's abymal result. We're, hopefully, starting to find some form as we move into the crucial final leg of the season.

And this has gone longer than I anticipated.