Pretty Epic, Huh?

AC Milan 2 - Manchester United 3
Scorers
AC Milan: Ronaldinho (3), Seedorf (85)
Manchester United: Scholes (36), Rooney (66, 74)

Red Card
Manchester United: Carrick (90)

Team: Van der Sar, Rio, Evans, Rafael (Brown 90), Evra, Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Nani (Valencia 64), Rooney

You gonna have to kick yourself in the balls if you missed this one. I almost did. All the Chinese New Year celebrations/gambling/happee times left me barely enough energy to hang on for the full 90 minutes. But at the end of it, I'm glad I spent the last 30 or so minutes literally pinching myself to stay awake to see the game out.

This is one helluva superb result to bring back to Old Trafford in 3 weeks time. The result could have been sweeter if we hadn't fallen asleep towards the end of the game. At the same time, it was what kept the game interesting.

Milan started the game extremely brightly. Ronaldinho scored in the 3rd minute via a heavily deflected shot off Carrick. Our defense was caught napping early in the game and were punished accordingly. Milan could have sealed the game before our equalizer. They had about 3-4 excellent chances to score, but Van der Sar stood in their way.

Scholes marked United's ascendancy with a fluke goal in the 36th minute. Up to that point, we were just flattering to deceive. We haven't had a shot on target and Milan were threatening to kill us off with the counter-attack. Scholes swung to meet the cross but the ball hit him on the standing leg and spun into the bottom corner of the net. It was a bizarre and fortunate goal, but at that point we were happy to take anything from the game.

We grew from strength to strength as the game wore on and the introduction of Valencia in place of Nani paid immediate dividends. With his first cross, he found Rooney who headed the ball into the net. Minutes later, Fletcher floated a beautiful ball for the man of the moment, Rooney, to head home his second and United's third.

We were in cruise control and winning everything on the pitch. It almost looked too easy until Seedorf was brought on. The wily old veteran scored late on with a cheeky flick that galvanized Milan into a frenzy looking for the equalizer. In the midst of all the helter skelter, Carrick was shown a second yellow. It was probably a case of mistaken identity, since Evra was the one who kicked the ball away. I'm sure it would all be sorted after the referee's report.

In any case, it was a frantic end to a fantastic game. Rooney validated Fergusion's earlier comments that he was one of the premier players in the modern game today. And while Rooney continues to hug the headlines, Fletcher was undoubtedly my hero today. He worked tirelessly firstly on the left of midfield, then to the centre and back to the left again. I'm sure he covered every blade of grass at the San Siro.

Which brings me to another point. It seems Evra, Fletcher and Rooney are playing every game. Given their incredible workrate, I'm beginning to worry that they might face a burn out sooner rather than later. Rooney especially has been left upfront alone rather frequently which means more running, something which he already does naturally. Our replacements don't seem to be able to carry their own weight, or at least Ferguson seems to have lost faith in them, namely Owen and Berbatov. It could all be much ado about nothing, but I'm still concerned.

Hey, don't let this grumpy fan take the joy away from today's epic victory. Let's savor the moment. It's not everyday you beat AC Milan so comprehensively.