An adage in my culture states that "when two elephants fight, the ground will suffer" and that was exactly what happened yesterday night when manchester united and Ac Milan battle for supremacy in the Europa League tournament. Much has been said about the match and the outcome of the match didn't disappoint. Both teams gave their all to come out victorious in the match but both have to settle for a share of the spoils.
While Ac Milan seems to have the upper hand as they have a goal advantage by scoring at Old Trafford, the game still seems open. Before the match, a lot of people predicted showers of goals and although that wasn't want was gotten, the game still produced two wonderful goals.
Both goals in the match were scored with the head and the two goals scorers were scoring for the first time for their respective teams. The match was tightly contested and it was decided until the last minute of the match. that shows how competitive the match was. It was in the second half that the game came alive as goals began to hit the back of the head.
Going into the game, Martial was carrying a knock and it was quite surprising that he started the match regardless. As half time ended, Amad Diallo was brought in to replace Martial who no longer continues playing. The 18-year-old was playing in the competition for the first time and he marked that with a well-taken header from a pinpoint cross from Fernandez.
The header was surely a splendid way to score against a big team has it drips of quality right from the cross to the execution. The goal was Amad Diallo first in a manchester United shirt. The celebration was perfect as it complements the goal. While Amad Diallo did his bit toward ensuring that Manchester united cross the line to the next round, Henderson threw it all away with a mistake in the closing second of the match.
Earlier in the match, Kassie scored a rocket from outside the box 18 but it was ruled off as the referee concluded that his hand touched the ball before he released the rocket. The shot could have been saved by Henderson if he has positioned himself during the gaol sticks but luckily for him, Var was theirs to spare his blushes.
But Var wasn't there to save him in the 94th minutes of the match as Simon Kjaer power header slipped through his fingers. The Header was a very powerful one but he could have easily saved the goal had he position himself in the centre of the goal stick as Ac Milan took their corner kick.
Henderson positioning was bad all through the match but he was lucky to concede just a goal. It remains to be seen if he will be between the sticks for Manchester United in the next round as they hope to move to the tournament next stage. The red devil's legend in the person of Scholes has already bashed him and questioned his inclusion in a match that carries such a hefty match that demands the highest qualified hands.
The next round is expected to be even more interesting than the first leg has a lot of players who miss out through injury for the first leg will be present for the second leg. Player such has Ibrahimovic will be back in AC Milan starting line up. Rashford, Luke Shaw and Pogba will back for Manchester united. It remains to be seen if De Gea will be called back to be in goal for the next round.
For now we anticipate and fold our arms as we wait for the next round of the contest to come around.
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