UCL: Schalke '04 vs. Manchester United

So my friend and I were talking about Champions League the other day, and I actually picked Schalke to take this match and this tie. How very stupid of me. I thought my reasoning was sound. United had had a tough time scoring goals in Champions League, and Schalke had shown a lot of fire beating both Valencia and Inter Milan. Anyways, yeah, that doesn't seem to be working out.

I'd like to point out the time in the match where Schalke actually showed up, but they never did. United absolutely dominated from first whistle to last. It really was a tremendous performance.

My notes on the match read just like a roll of shots from United players. In fact the only reason Schalke was in the match at all from the get go was the stellar performance of their goal keeper, Manuel Neuer. He started saving shots in the 3rd minute, the first off the foot of Wayne Rooney, and it never got easier. The Schalke defense was a shambles and Neuer might as well have been facing a firing squad, especially with Chicharito buzzing about. Ryan Giggs also had several decent chances in the first half, but ultimately Neuer held up and we went to the half at 0-0.

United might have come out of the half a little concerned. After all, they'd had about 60% of the possession, but hadn't been able to find the back of the net. One counter from Schalke, and they would be in trouble. That trouble never materialized, and United remained in total control.

Schalke's best chance came in 52nd minute when they did actually stage a counter. However, in the end it only amounted to half a chance and Jurado hit the shot wide of the target.

At that point, United had had enough. in the 67th minute Wayne Rooney sent a cheeky ball into the 18 for Giggs, who finally slotted it past Neuer to give United the 0-1 lead and an away goal. Then just two minutes later, the Schalke defense must have been on break, because Hernandez managed an easy ball to Wayne Rooney for United's second goal and a 0-2 advantage. The final action of the match ended with a whimper in the 76th minute when Farfan hit a dreadful free kick out of bounds. The full time result was 0-2 to United.

So in the end, Manchester United looked like a team capable of winning the final, and Schalke looked like a team that wasn't capable of beating your kid's AYSO squad. Great run for the German side, but you're going to Old Trafford down two away goals. Good luck with that.