Champions League: Real Madrid 1-1 Man Utd – De Gea De Star As Red Devils Secure Away Draw At The Bernabeu (Photos & Highlights)
By Alan Duffy
Real Madrid 1-1 Manchester United – Champions League – 13th February 2013
An early goal from Danny Welbeck followed by a superbly disciplined second-half performance saw Manchester United secure a fine 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
One of the most hyped games in recent years started superbly, with Cristiano Ronaldo looking the most likely to score. However, on 20 minutes, Danny Welbeck nodded home a Wayne Rooney corner after some poor defending from the home side.
10 minutes later, Real were level, courtesy of a magnificent header from Ronaldo and only for a string of superb saves from man of the match (at least for United) David De Gea, Los Merengues could have been well in front.
After looking ropey defensively themselves in the first period, the Red Devils tightened up after the break, with Jonny Evans and Rio Ferdinand superb at the back and Phil Jones and Michael Carrick stoic in midfield. While the Spaniards came close on a number of occasions to scoring again, Robin Van Persie had a few chances himself to win the game for the visitors, only to fail to make the most of the opportunities.
So the tie now moves to Old Trafford with the clash perfectly balanced after an enthralling first leg.
Photos…
Highlights…
Photos: PA
Named And Shamed: 37 English Clubs Offering Unpaid Jobs – Sporting Intelligence
2013 Champions League Final Viewing Companion – Dirty Tackle
Very Best Of ESPN FC's Toe Poke Blog 2012/13
The 'Transfer Talks' Flowchart – Football Cliches
Remembering Ivan Turina – A Football Report
Moyes Has Done Sod All To Deserve United Job – Johnny Nic For F365
Anfield: The Victims, The Anger And The Shameful Truth – Guardian
The A-Z Of Football Boot Brands – The Boot Room
Man Utd Coach Delivers Opinion On Rooney's Form – Off The Post
19 Rules Of Playing Football When You're A Kid – BuzzFeed
Was a great game, especially the 1st half.
Overall, I think we (United) deserved a draw. Real seemed to have possession for a large part of the game, but when we did break we were very dangerous.
Surprising to see Giggs & van Persie fluff their lines in the 2nd half (especially van Persie), I suppose this can happen when a game is hyped so much.
I was on tenterhooks for most of that 2nd half! Fair play to Madrid, they played like the awesome team they are.
Let’s just see how they play away from their comfort zone.
Will they enjoy a cold wet midweek game in Manchester?
Seems like a very Real-esque performance: great attacking fluidity, sleepy defending, and plenty of intent. There was a point where Ozil/Di Maria/CR7 bombarded United, wave after wave after wave, only to see them not capitalize.
And that is why I have a gut feeling Madrid, once again, will be bowing out of the UCL early. These types of conclusions typify this Madrid side in Champions League play. They do 99% of things right, except that crucial 1% — finishing off a team. Cannot wait for the 2nd leg!
for me Phil jones in midfield decided that game, he was a tank out there