Translated material
Fallen Rome
Manchester United defeated the Italian club
English clubs continue their triumphant march in the Champions League. Chelsea managed to sneak into the semi-finals of the tournament, scoring the winning goal against Valencia in the last minute. And Manchester United literally burst into it, trampling the Italian Roma on the way - 7:1.“This is the worst night of my life,” the words of Roman captain Francesco Totti do not exaggerate the scale of the disaster that Roma found itself in. Such defeats are never forgotten. The Romans will be reminded of him at every convenient and inconvenient occasion: enemies - vindictively, friends - sympathetically.
Meanwhile, before this match, Roma was considered, if not a favorite, then a team with quite tangible chances of success. A modest home victory with a score of 2:1 did not guarantee a quiet life, but injuries to Manchester United's leading players made the task easier in the return match. But by the middle of the first half, everything was over for Roma - the Mancunians sent three goals into the visitors' goal. Even Smith, who had not scored for almost a year and a half, scored.
If this were a boxing match, the referee would be required to stop the fight and stop the beating. But the tribunes, offended by the unkind reception of their delegates in Rome, demanded revenge. As a result, Old Trafford should be happy: the opponent was disgraced, and there is no point in describing who, when and how United scored - whoever wanted, how they wanted and when they wanted scored. “It would be better if we stayed at home,” was the only thing that Roma head coach Luciano Spalletti could squeeze out.
But Alex Ferguson did not hide his triumph. Sir Alex had kind words not only for his team, but for all of British football. “The fact that three English clubs are likely to reach the semi-finals of the league shows that our championship is the strongest in Europe,” Ferguson boasted, discounting all other countries.
But indeed, now English clubs have an excellent chance to return to Britain the Champions Cup, which Barcelona took away from Liverpool a year ago. Chelsea also made their contribution so that the fight for this trophy almost turned into an English tournament. The Blues managed to win away against Valencia, although in the first half they could hardly hope for success. Before the break, the Bats had every opportunity to solve their tournament problems, but Morientes converted only one of the chances presented to him, leaving Chelsea with a chance of salvation.
Jose Mourinho's team did not fail to take advantage of it. “During the break, the coach was clearly unhappy, he demanded that we not panic, he said that he was not happy with our game,” John Terry said after the match. “There was no disruption in the locker room during the break. I just told the guys that they need to be strong mentally and not give up because we conceded a goal that didn’t decide anything anyway,” Mourinho confirmed, and, apparently, the words of the Portuguese coach, as well as the transfer the scheme with three strikers bore fruit. The turning point goal was scored by Shevchenko. The Ukrainian striker found the chance to strike and equalized the match. But the British had to wait for almost the entire remaining playing time for the winning goal. Neither Drogba nor Ballack, who struck at point-blank range, could beat Valencia goalkeeper Canizares. And only Essien, already in stoppage time, brought Chelsea a victory with a strong blow - the first for an English team at Mestalla.
“This has already happened in my practice: when I came from Porto to Old Trafford, we also scored in the last minute and advanced. “Such goals are an incredible feeling,” Jose Mourinho, who was one step closer to the Champions League final, shared his joy. - Every Chelsea fan should be proud of their team - there are all reasons for that. And, of course, this is a great situation for all of English football - three English teams in the semi-finals."
Champions League. 1/4 finals. Return matches . Manchester United - Roma - 7:1 (first game - 1:2) - Carrick 11, 60, Smith 17, Rooney 19, Cristiano Ronaldo 44, 49, Evra 81 - De Rossi 69; “Valencia” – “Chelsea” – 1:2 (1:1) – Morientes 32 – Shevchenko 52, Essien 90.