This is it! The moment we've been waiting for; The League Cup Final. No matter what kind of competition, the final always excite us. Although its not the same as the Champion League final, we still going to enjoy it especially seeing our players lifting the cup. Here's the statistic for both team and how they reach the final: -

Standing United

United - in keeping with their traditional policy of blooding their youngsters - have, for the most part, combined a mixture of youth with fringe players and experience; the likes of Jonny Evans (who has proved a key player when called upon in domestic and continental competition this season) have been selected along with Darron Gibson, Rafael da Silva, John O'Shea, Nani, and Carlos Tevez.

Their first appearance in the competition arrived in the third round, and was more noteworthy for the horrific injury to Rodrigo Possebon, in a tackle by Emmanuel Pogotetz, that prompted Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate to issue a public apology. United though emerged triumphant with a 3-1 scoreline, and the full match report can be found here.

Next up were mega-rich Championship club Queen's Park Rangers, who could only be brushed aside due to a late second-half Carlos Tevez penalty conversion. Arguably the game of the competition arrived in the fifth round when an eight goal thriller was contested between Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers, Argentine international Tevez almost single-handedly disposing of the Blue and White halved Lancashire side by finding the net no fewer than four times.

The semi-final pitted Manchester United against Derby County, where a promising young English manager - Nigel Clough - had only recently been installed. Clough watched on in the stands as his Rams provided a shock at Pride Park in the first leg, County marching to a 1-0 victory through Kris Commons' effort. Clough was then present on the touchline for the trip to Old Trafford, but could not prevent a devilishly rampant Red Devils side from booking their place at Wembley with a 4-2 scoreline. Match reports for both legs can be found here, and here.

Hotspur's Hotshots

Tottenham Hotspur also entered the competition in the third round, and brushed aside a troubled Tyneside outfit in Newcastle United with goals from Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and midfielder Jamie O'Hara. High-flying Liverpool then stood in the way of progression to the fifth round, but an unforgiving Hotspur side slayed the Merseysiders with a 4-2 victory.

Hertfordshire-based club Watford awaited Tottenham in the fifth-round, but super-sub Darren Bent sealed a winner after an early Tomas Priskin effort for the Hornets. Full match report is here.

A two-legged January affair with Burnley (who had already inflicted capital punishment by knocking out Arsenal, Chelsea and Fulham) awaited Tottenham, and even though they had a three goal cushion from the first leg - a 4-1 win at White Hart Lane - they found Burnley battling back with great spirit at Turf Moor. The Clarets went three goals up to force extra-time, but two late goals from Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe spared Spurs' blushes and broke Burnley supporters' hearts. The first leg report is here, while the second is here.



- Goal.com

Real Madrid and Manchester United look set to clash in the transfer market as they prepare to battle it out for VfB Stuttgart striker, Mario Gomez.

Sport Bild reports that the two Champions League sides are interested in the German forward and have sent scouts to watch him this season.

Along with United and Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City are rumoured to be following his progress, which could make any bidding war very interesting.

The German has scored 24 goals in 31 matches this season and has a contract with Stuttgart until 2012.

However, it is widely believed that the 23-year old will leave this summer and his buy-out clause is currently €35 million.

Frankly speaking, I think this is just another rumor by Sport Bild. First, what make you think that Sir Alex is willing to spend €35 million on a player that he never mentioned before. The only player that he want with that kind of money is Karim Benzema but unfortunately I don't think he's interested to join Manchester United.

Nonetheless, if Sir Alex is looking for Tevez replacement, Mario Gomez should fit the list because of his scoring record, which is something that Tevez lack of right now.

Tottenham Hotspur will head into Sunday's League Cup final hoping the claim their second consecutive title, having downed Chelsea 2-1 in extra time last year.

Manchester United are Spurs' opponents this time around, but Harry Redknapp has insisted his men won't park the bus against the Premier League leaders.

"You respect but don't fear them because we also have good players for them to worry about," the Lilywhites boss said in The Guardian.

"You have to make sure you stay in the game and therefore there is no point going out there and starting gung-ho. You need to adopt a good shape, be solid, have a plan and know what you are doing against them.

"But we won't sit back – we will have a go. We have good attacking players and we hope to cause them problems as well."

I have lots of respect for Harry Redknapp. He always been the guy that save the club from being relegated. I'm looking forward to watch the final on Sunday and hopefully we can bring back the first domestic trophy of the season.

Still remember my last post, Ronaldo vs Ibrahimovic. I guess when most critics says that Ronaldo couldn't perform at big stage, we could say the same thing about Ibrahimovic. I can't believe that Mourinho think that this guy should be awarded as the world best player.

Look what he says after the game.

“We have a great chance of going through,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic boasted on the Beneamata’s official website.

“We did not manage to take a lead, but we also prevented them from doing it. That is not a bad thing.”

Jose Mourinho’s men had few scoring chances and had to thank goalkeeper Julio Cesar for a string of superb saves.

“It was a beautiful match,” noted the Swedish international. “They were the better side in the first period, but we were superior in the second half.

“They are a great team but so are we. We will now travel to Manchester and win. We’ll see what happens.”

Jose Mourinho has revealed he had to play a rearguard action against Manchester United at the San Siro to protect his team from conceding a crucial away goals.

Mourinho will hope Inter can emulate his FC Porto side and knock Manchester United out on their own turf.

"They are a very quick team and we don't have these characteristics,'' he explained. "The only reason I lost only once against Manchester United is that I understood this immediately.

"If they had scored in the first half, the situation would have been harder for us and, for this, it is not an easy decision to make to sit deep and try to block them.''

After reading the news, I can't believe it that Mourinho still think that United are the same team he beat at Porto. I guess after getting sack last year, he didn't watch football at all. Still remember how United beat Barcelona? As much I hate to say this, Barcelona was a better team than United at last year semi-final. Compare to Inter this year, I don't think United have any problem to progress to the next round.

World best player, Cristiano Ronaldo believe that Manchester United still have the edge ahead of second leg of the Champion League against Inter Milan.

"We played better than Inter last night,'' said Ronaldo. "We created more chances, especially in the first half, and we deserved to win. At home I feel we have a better chance.

"I don't know whether Inter will be a better team in Manchester. We respect them but in my opinion we have a better chance at Old Trafford because we have a better team.''

I woke up this morning wondering whether there is going to be another upset today. To be honest, the only result that make me surprise was Sporting Lisbon vs Bayern Munich. I did expect them to lose the game but not by 5 goals. It just too much for any team that qualified up until this stage. As usual, Franck Ribery produced another exceptional display and until now, I still wonder why Sir Alex didn't want to sign him when he was at Marseille. I believe he could be the next Ryan Giggs. Imagine on the left flank and Ronaldo on the right; it's a perfect combination.

As for Liverpool, I knew they going to beat Real Madrid no matter what. Benitez proven himself to be one of the best managers in this competition. Real is not the same team after Zinedine Zidane + Figo + Ronaldo era. That's why they trying so hard to bring Cristiano Ronaldo to Santiago Bernabeu.

Same goes to Juventus. They're not the same team before they were relegated into Serie B. Most of the star players now are scattered around Europe but mostly at big clubs such as Inter Milan and Real Madrid. I wonder why nobody called Zlatan Ibrahimovic a traitor but on the other hand they called Cristiano disloyal. It's like saying "I am going to rob that shop" but if I didn't do it, nobody should called me a robber.

Giuseppe Rossi scored another goal, should we buy him back? He looks very good this year and we have buy back contract with Villareal.

Here's Sir Alex Ferguson view after the game and his prediction for the next game: -

I understand why Sir Alex happy with last night performance although we ended up will goalless draw. First, it was an away game at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, very unfamiliar territory for us. Second, we didn't concede any goal with Nemanja Vidic was on the bench. Losing a goal against any Italian team is like a death sentence since we all know what they capable of. Third, we didn't feature all our best player on the pitch, I should say we still have secret weapon for the next leg.

Unfortunately, here's the drawback. We failed to score last night mean our defensive line need to be more careful next time because we can't afford to concede any goal. Remember what happen to us when we were against FC Porto few years back under Jose Mourinho. I think this is what Mourinho meant by no team is at their advantage right now.

We should have taken the lead last night with Ronaldo, Berbatov, Giggs and Park missed their chances. I can't believe myself that Giggs missed one-on-one chance against Cesar. He had options whether to shoot or pass and he chose to take that chance at such a tight angle.

I am pretty sure that using Berbatov as a lone striker was a tactical move by Sir Alex where he could easily pick Rooney or Tevez to partner with him. There are few things that I don't like about Berbatov; first, he always complaining when he didn't get the ball and then, keep wasting great chances when one hard to come by for him. I rather have Tevez as a lone striker because he will give everything for each game.

I don't know what happen during the second half, its like we lost our momentum that we built in the first half but looking at the way we play last night, I believe we have what it takes to beat Inter.

Edwin van der Sar: Very little to do in the first half, but he remained sharp of mind and kept Inter out when the inevitable spell of pressure arrived in the second half.

Rating: 6

John O’Shea: Solid in defence and got forward well in the first half, won plenty of headers and showed little sign of his injury causing him problems.

Rating: 6

Rio Ferdinand: An absolute rock at the back all night. Rio was the glue in the back four on a night when United were down to the bare bones at the back.

Rating: 7

Jonny Evans: Never overawed by the occasion – but in 25 games for United he’s given no reason to suggest he would be. Coped well with threat of Ibrahimovic and Adriano.

Rating: 7

Patrice Evra: Always threatened going forward in the first half, which helped United’s dominant attacking play, and dealt well with overlapping Inter full-back Maicon.

Rating: 8

Darren Fletcher: Outstanding performance from Fletcher, controlled possession in midfield in the first half alongside Carrick and protected the back four brilliantly.

Rating: 7

Michael Carrick: Wonderful array of passes and, like Fletcher, dictated the pace of play in the first 45 minutes. Had to remain composed as Inter edged second half.

Rating: 7

Ryan Giggs: The Italians used to fear Giggs’ pace as a winger, and they had plenty of reasons to be concerned with the Welshman as a creative midfield player. Always involved.

Rating: 5

Ji-sung Park: So vital to the way United played. Important tactically to the team’s shape, provided extra defensive cover and was a constant threat down the left flank.

Rating: 8

Cristiano Ronaldo: Constant menace, just a shame one of his free-kicks didn’t find the net. These are games you hope Ronaldo comes to the fore, and he did that, albeit without that crucial final touch.

Rating: 9

Dimitar Berbatov: Led the line admirably. Always looking for the ball and the perfect man for the task of lone front man on the night, bringing others around him into play.

Rating: 6

Substitute

Wayne Rooney (on for Park): had little time to make an impact, although he was harshly booked.

Rating: 6

Both managers has different view on last night game and ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford in 2 weeks time. The Special One believes the result at the San Siro does not favour either side and everything remains in the balance for the second leg.

"Manchester United are not Bologna and going to play there in the Champions [League] will not be like playing an away match in the championship," he said to the microphones of SKY, following the match.

"The 0-0 result is difficult for everyone. We cannot lose, but they cannot have a scoring draw or they will be out."

While for Sir Alex Ferguson, despite failing to score against Inter, he professed himself happy with the goalless draw.

Speaking to ITV after the game, Ferguson said he believed his side had played well and had put in a mature display.

“I think we played very well,” explained the Scot.

“I think in the second half for about 10-15 minutes they exerted a bit of pressure which we expected, we spoke about it at half-time, but other than that we played very, very, well with good composure and maturity.”

With nothing separate the two teams, Mourinho knows he should do everything in his power to get his team to the next round of Champion League. This is another series of Mourinho's mind game ahead of the 2nd leg.

There were many decisions last night that in favor to us but you can’t blame the referee for that. Look at the way Inter’s players behave inside and outside the pitch. They deserved what they get. As usual, Ronaldo became the main target and some of the tackles were too harsh, it’s like they’re trying to get him injured. Same goes to Evra.

Here’s what he says after the game: -

"Maybe in the second game we will have a referee who is on our side," the Portuguese coach told reporters after the match.

"If we go to Old Trafford and we don't have the same referee - but we have one who will give the away team so much protection - then my team will get to the quarter-final."

Mourinho made reference to Inter's ignored penalty appeal after Adriano appeared to be hauled down by Rio Ferdinand at a corner, but he refused to dwell on single instances.

"I don't want to go into details of things like how we didn't have a penalty. Everything was against us, every little detail," the former Chelsea boss said.

"You watch how many free kicks they had and we had. The way we got yellow cards and they did not. I think the tendency was clear."

I expect the lineup would like this tonight: -

GK: Edwin Van Der Sar
RB: Rafael Da Silva
LB: Patrice Evra
CB: Rio Ferdinand
CB: Jonny Evans / John O'Shea
RM: Park Ji Sung
LM: Cristiano Ronaldo
CM: Paul Scholes
CM: Darren Fletcher / Michael Carrick
ST: Dimitar Berbatov
ST: Wayne Rooney

Police have confirmed that the home of Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher - in Bowden, Greater Manchester - was broken into on Monday night. The Scot is currently in Italy ahead of tonight's Champions League clash with Inter.

A woman was reportedly threatened during the raid. The 25-year-old has a girlfriend and two sons, although it's unclear as to whether they were at the property at the time of the incident.

Scenes of crime officers have now been to the house, with inquiries ongoing.

Police were initially called at 21:00 GMT. Prior to that, a gang had entered and taken some items as they roved through the property. Police have reported no injuries, although it's unknown whether or not the gang was armed with weapons.

It's not the first time a Premier League footballer has had his home burgled. United and Liverpool stars are the worst affected, with potential thieves aware of their movements via media coverage and operations easier to manage than in busy London.

Fletcher is, nevertheless, expected to start against Jose Mourinho's Inter.

- Goal.com

I don't know whether this is a good news or not for us. Sportmediaset.it states that the players did not expect the snub and it came as a shock when ‘The Special One' announced his line-up on Monday.

It is believed both players are furious with the choice, especially Vieira, who played a part in Saturday's win over Bologna. However, the Frenchman was calm when he explained his disappointment to L'Equipe.

"It's a choice made by the coach, however, I am really surprised," said Vieira.

"I thought I would play [against United] as I have been picked for the last two games."

Douglas Maicon and Davide Santon are certain to start and they are likely to be partnered by Christian Chivu and Ivan Cordoba.

Esteban Cambiasso, Javier Zanetti, Dejan Stankovic and Sulley Muntari are likely to play in the middle. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will start with Adriano up front.

The San Siro is sold out for tonight's clash and around 6,000 Manchester United fans are already in Milan.

Latest interview reveals that 'L’Imperatore’ is confident that the Nerazzurri’s physical strength in attack will be key to bringing down the Red Devils.

“I think that the side who progress [from this fixture] will win the Champions League,” Adriano told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Do not ask me why, I just feel it. I am very happy to know that I am going to play this match at a packed out San Siro.”

Mourinho revealed during yesterday’s press conference that he is going to stick with the attacking duo of Adriano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who have wreaked havoc in the domestic league in recent weeks.

“We both have a great physical strength,” mused the 27-year-old. “We are good at protecting the ball, allowing the team to pour forward.

“And we love jostling for position. It’s nice trying to scare the opposition’s defenders, including Rio Ferdinand. I have faced him with Brazil, he is very strong, but I will do my best to cause him problems.”

Inter Milan captain Javier Zanetti believes Manchester United are "one of the strongest teams in Europe", but insists the Italians will be able to compete with them on Tuesday night.

The two sides clash at the San Siro in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie which promises to be a true clash of the titans between the defending Italian and English champions, and Zanetti claims United will meet their match.

"I think we are up against a big team which is doing very well in the Premier League and in the Champions League, but I am confident that we can do it," he said.

"We are a very competitive team and this is a clash between two big teams who want to continue in the Champions League.

"We are up against one of the strongest teams in Europe. We respect Manchester a lot, but we are in condition to be able to do very well."

Zanetti is the only member of the Inter side who was present when the two teams met a decade ago.

With rumors surrounding Tevez, Sir Alex Ferguson remains his pursuit for Karim Benzema's signature. With several giant teams from EPL and La Liga has shown their interest, United is hopeful to capture the French international right under their noses.

Still, United will know that interest from Spain could be their undoing. Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas recently claimed that Barcelona and Real Madrid have made their interest known and the hitman is thought to fancy testing himself in the Primera Division.

Personally, I don't think that Benzema is interested to make Old Trafford as his next destination and at the same time Barcelona is considering other options. It's up to Real Madrid to bid and if they don't, he will remains at Lyon. I rather sign Tevez now rather than waiting for Benzema made up his mind on where he want to play football next season.

Former Manchester United man David Beckham, is siding with his former club and feels that holders United remain favorites to progress. After receive a harsh lesson at the hands of Inter, losing the Milan derby in the colors of the Rossoneri, he willing to share with Sir Alex Ferguson his scouting report ahead of United's Inter showdown.


Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho continues his mind game claiming that Inter & Ibrahimovic will dominate Manchester United who will playing without Vidic after the defender's sending off in the World Club Cup final in December.


Esteban Cambiasso on the other hand has different view from his manager. The middle man is wary of United's threat and he is demanding a flawless game from his team-mates. Cambiasso believes there is not much separating Inter from United, but a goal in the Premier League's side favour on Tuesday will make life tough for the return in two weeks at Old Trafford.


According to The Guardian, John O'Shea and Jonny Evans boarded the flight to Milan on Monday morning with the rest of the Manchester United squad. That mean, one of them will be playing against Inter in the last 16.

From ten point advantage over Manchester United on December 28, now they are slip to a seven point deficit; Benitez knows that no matter what, Liverpool must beat United on March 14 at Old Trafford in order to stay as a contender for EPL.

Even if they beat United that day, they still need to pray that United will slip another 2 games to overtake the defending champion and prevent them from winning three consecutive titles.

I still believe that Liverpool are still in title race as long they don't slip another precious point. Only five of their last 13 Premier League games was not a good result for them and I think the turning point of this season was the incident involving Gerrard at the pub.

I personally think that Liverpool are the only team that can stop the Red Devils now although Chelsea is looking good at the moment under the new management

According to British tabloid, News of the World, Barcelona are believed to be interested in signing left-back Patrice Evra from Manchester United.

Although right now we have Fabio that showing so much potential as left-back, I don't think Sir Alex Ferguson is willing to let go one of his best performers.

It has also been speculated that Barca could make an official offer of €22 million for the 27-year-old this coming summer as they look to shore up one of their only weak points in the team.

I think this is purely a speculation by the tabloid.

First time I looked at this photo, I really thought that CR7 was asking for Tevez's signature but then I realize, that is impossible. There were plenty of rumors surrounding Tevez right now. Is he going to stay or not?

Many big clubs across Europe has shown their interests to sign the 25-year-old Argentina international who is nearing the end of a two-year loan spell with the Red Devils. It appears that 'Apache' would be happy to stay with the Premier League and European Champions but unfortunately the asking price is way beyond United's budget.

As a fan, I think Tevez has shown big improvement over the last few months but I don't think that Sir Alex is going to pay £32 million for a backup player. What do you think guys? Should we sign him and lose all our summer transfer budget or should we get another striker?

I find it very funny when people start comparing Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I don't think it is possible because they both playing in different position, different league and different mindset. The only similarity between both players is that they are the key players for their respective team plus Ibrahimovic was never really a contender in any major individual awards such as FIFA World Best Player or European Player of the Year.

I think the only person that is comparable with Ibrahimovic from United's squad would be Dimitar Berbatov. Both playing as a striker, good ball control, big physical, good in the air and explosive finishing touch. Unfortunately, I believe that at the moment Ibrahimovic is way better than Berbatov. The only problem with Berbatov is lack of stamina which affect his performance. He should quit smoking earlier if he really want to play at highest level.

This is a very bad news for us. With Gary Neville, Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Nemanja Vidic all set to miss out, we could not afford to lose another central defender. I knew this is going to happen at some stage during the season but not in the Champion League. To be honest, I think Sir Alex have made a huge mistake by letting Gerard Pique go and worst of all, re-joining Barcelona.

Jonny Evans is more to Vidic type while Pique is the next Rio Ferdinand. I don't know whether some of you notice this but Pique is an attacking minded defender with great through pass and header (defensive and offensive). Too bad that we sold him to Barcelona because that actually complete the team.

The main concern now is who's going to replace Jonny Evans? My guess, one of our midfielder will drop down to central defender role since we can rely on Fabio or Rafael to play in that position.