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San Siro
Tuesday, 24 February 2009
19:45
Knockout Stage [Rnd if 16] - First Leg
Inter Milan v. Manchester United
Stadium: Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy.
Competition: UEFA Champions League, Round of 16
Date: 24 February 2009
Kickoff: 19:45 GMT, 14:45 ET
Two pre-tournament favorites will do battle as Inter Milan will host defending European champions Manchester United!
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MATCH PREVIEW
Jose Mourinho claims that he was happy to draw Manchester United in the Round of 16. It’s hard to argue with his track record against Sir Alex Ferguson. Mourinho’s Porto squad eliminated Manchester United en route to the 2004 UEFA Champions League title. Additionally, Mourinho’s Chelsea squads had a lot of success against United, defeating them five times in 9 career meetings in England, including a 1-0 triumph in the 2007 F.A. Cup Final. Clearly, The Special One knew a little about how to defeat the Red Devils, which is probably one of the reasons why his name comes up so often as a possible replacement for Sir Alex if and when if finally decides to step down.
However, it’s strange that any club would want to draw the defending champions in the Round of 16, especially one that seems to be rounding into the form the way Manchester United is. Until conceding against Blackburn over the weekend, United had kept a record 14 consecutive clean sheets in the Premiership. They also opened up a seven point lead against Liverpool and look set to win their third consecutive Premiership crown. With a Carling Cup Final next weekend and a quarterfinal date with either Fulham or Swansea in the F.A. Cup, the dream of a Quadruple is still very much alive.
Despite their excellent results, Manchester United have had several injury woes, and the biggest one occurred on Saturday as young centre-back Jonny Evans aggravated an old ankle injury and looks like a major doubt for this match. They were counting on him to provide cover for United as Nemanja Vidic serves a one-match ban for his red card in the World Club Championships. With Wes Brown, Gary Neville, and John O’Shea all injured as well, Sir Alex could be looking at giving young James Chester a baptism by fire or else he could play someone like Darren Fletcher or Michael Carrick out-of-position.
Neither prospect is a particularly tempting one, especially with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Adriano leading the Inter attack. However, it could end up being much ado about nothing. Mourinho has never been known as an attacking manager, and will probably stay true to his colors. As such, the tie could come down to who wins the battle in the midfield. With excellent ball-winners like Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti, sharp passers like Dejan Stankovic, great dribblers like Maxwell, and “been-there-done-that” veterans like Patrick Vieira and Luis Figo, Inter’s midfield will be very difficult to handle. United will probably rely on some variation of the 4-5-1 that served them well last season, so we could be in for a heavyweight slugfest of the highest magnitude.
Who will draw first blood in this marquee matchup? Will it the defending champs? Or will the Special One get the best of Sir Alex once again? Cant wait......
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Injury Situation and Evans [manutd.com]
Sir Alex will face a serious selection dilemma should Jonny Evans be ruled out of United’s Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Tuesday.
The young defender limped off against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday evening with a reccurrence of a recent ankle injury.
“It’s a bit sore,” Evans told MUTV after the final whistle. “I kicked the ground when I tried to make a long clearance and now it’s a bit tender.
“I don’t know [if I’ll be ready for Tuesday’s game]. The doctor said he’d have a look at it on Sunday. We’ll have a better idea then.”
The Reds were always going to face the Italian champions without the suspended Nemanja Vidic, but Sir Alex was counting on Evans to plug that gap. Gary Neville and Wes Brown are also out injured, further curtailing the manager’s options in the centre of defence.
“We’ve got some injury issues,” the boss told Setanta Sports. “I just hope I can get two centre-halves fit for the match. At the moment it’s doubtful.
“I’m hoping I’ll have John O’Shea fit as I won’t have Vidic, Neville or Brown either.”
O’Shea injured his heel against Fulham last Wednesday but if neither he nor Evans is fit for Tuesday, the boss could be forced to emply unconventional measures.
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Mourinho - Confident
LONDON — Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho expects nothing less than victory over Manchester United in one of three meetings between English and Italian clubs when the Champions League resumes after a two-month hiatus this week.
While Premier League clubs' recent success in Europe means AS Roma and Juventus may be apprehensive about their games against Arsenal and Chelsea, Mourinho has reason for his optimism ahead of Tuesday's game in Milan.
He lost just one of his 10 matches against United while manager of Chelsea and famously ousted the Red Devils from the Champions League on the way to winning the 2004 title with FC Porto.
Manchester United is the defending European champion and favorite to retain its English league title but Inter's confidence should be high after Saturday's 2-1 win over Bologna kept it nine points clear at the top of Serie A.
"Manchester United are not a better team than us," Mourinho said. "I have played 12 times in the last few years against Manchester United, so I know their qualities, I know their players."
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
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