MANCHESTER, England: Few matches will have been more painful for Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs than his 1,000th as a pro on Tuesday.
After being selected to start against Real Madrid to reach the milestone, the 39-year-old Giggs turned in an impressive, age-defying display before seeing his team crumble in the second half and exit the Champions League.
Giggs had been at the heart of United’s attacking impetus in the first half, bursting across the pitch and delivering balls with precision to setup goal-scoring opportunities.
But after United did finally go in front — through Sergio Ramos’ own goal at the start of the second half — the buoyant mood was quickly deflated inside Old Trafford.
A red card for Nani for a studs-up, flying challenge on Alvaro Arbeloa, saw United reduced to ten men in the 56th minute.
Ten minutes later, Madrid was level through Luka Modric’s curling strike off the post. And Cristiano Ronaldo netted inside three minutes to shatter the European dreams of his former club by sending Madrid through with a 2-1 second-leg win after drawing 1-1 at home.
At the final whistle, as the United fans jeered the referee who sent off Nani, even the usually placid Giggs was pointing in anger at Cuneyt Caki.
Now Giggs’ hopes of adding to his two Champions League successes will have to wait another season.
Like the rest of his team, Giggs was prevented from speaking to the media after the match, with assistant manager Mike Phelan issuing the only public reaction to a night that enraged the hosts.
Phelan said Giggs’ landmark match and a “great performance was marred by one decision” by the referee.
“The players sensed they were in control and then it drifted away,” Phelan said.
Now the focus shifts to advancing in the FA Cup by beating Chelsea on Sunday.
And Giggs seems certain to collect a 13th Premier League winners’ medal this season, with United currently 12 points ahead in title race.
Tuesday’s match was Giggs’ 932nd match for United, where he has spent his entire career since making his debut in 1991. Giggs has also played 64 times for Wales and made four appearances for Britain at last year’s London Olympics.
Giggs’ 1,000th match is 1 to forget for United
Giggs’ 1,000th match is 1 to forget for United
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
