Jose Mourinho demonstrated in Copa del Rey the perfect
strategy to approach a two-leg Cup tie with 2nd leg playing away. A week after
their triumph at Camp Nou, Real Madrid was looking for an encore at the Theatre
of Dreams. Trailing only by an away goal, Jose Mourinho fielded his strongest
formation, with focus all on the returning Christiano Ronaldo.
Although the Portuguese promised to attack outside their
home soil, Real Madrid struggled to take control of the game early on.
Manchester United were disciplined and composed with possession. Instead of
allowing rooms for Real Madrid to launch counter attacks, Michael Carrick
orchestrated the midfield, while Rafael and Patrice Evra operated with limited
fantasy, to ensure both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, possibly not with the
pace anymore to deal with Mehmet Ozil and Ronaldo, were well protected.
Dropping Wayne Rooney was a huge decision, but Alex Ferguson
certainly made the correct one. The movement of Danny Welbeck was invaluable to
the Red Devils, which Mourinho's side required several excellent efforts from
Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane to prevail against United's counter attacks. Shifting
Ryan Giggs to the right flank was another clever trick to help stabilise the
young Rafael against their former teammate. Sir Alex indeed got all his tactics
right and Manchester United had always been looking like the better team of the
night.
A well-crafted attack
sparked off by Rafael ultimately led to an unfortunate own goal by Sergio
Ramos, although there would be little argument that United truly deserved the
lead. Just as the match was entering the climax, referee Cakir made a
game-changing decision that swung the momentum of the match completely.
Nani's high boot had undoubtedly caught Alvario Arbeloa, but
with his both eyes on the ball, it is questionable whether it was an
intentional dangerous tackle or an attempt to control the ball in the air. United
fans have every rights to be fuming. Arbeloa was only booked in the first half
for a tackle on Evra, which his boot caught Evra's thigh and would be
physically impossible to catch the ball. If Nani's challenge was ranked as a
dangerous tackle, Arbeloa should also be sent off for an intentional and
cynical dangerous foul.
Jose Mourinho took minimal time to take advantage of the
situation. Luka Modric came in for Arbeloa shortly after Nani's sent off and
the Croatian equalised with a world-class curling shot. Christiano Ronaldo then
converted Higuain cross to put United in the trailing position, needing two
goals to advance to the Quarter Final.
It sounds to be a job with ease, but let's not forget it is
not always easy to play against a team of 10. Knowing their opponents had been
by far the better team and the injury time at Old Trafford could be horrendous,
Mourinho decided to go cautious rather than looking for the clinching third
goal. The tactician is a recognised master in getting the results he wants, and
it was definitely the right move. Manchester United admirably fought till the
last minute, despite being a man down, and Los Blancos needed to call on Diego
Lopez for several good saves to deny Red Devil's comeback.
Finally, "the better team lost", quoted from Jose
Mourinho. Unfortunately, the clash of extraordinary quality was largely
determined by one single decision. Goal-line technology is coming to practice
next season. Disputes over controversial goals will hopefully be settled.
Nevertheless, there are more controversies in football matches which are hinged
on human decisions. Are we seeing more facilities to be put in place to ensure
football matches are only to be decided by the quality of the teams, rather
than human errors?
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