Man United goalkeeper David De Gea says, 'Job is only half done'

David de Gea is refusing to accept having the last laugh on his critics until Manchester United's Champions League mission is complete.

De Gea has been subjected to enormous criticism throughout his short Red Devils career. Prior to Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Real Madrid, Sir Alex Ferguson likened the 22-year-old's development to a toddler learning how to walk.

He made a string of fine saves at the Bernabeu, but he knows the job is only half done and he is expecting it to be equally tough in the second leg at Old Trafford on March 5. He said: "The party is not over. We are talking about Real Madrid, one of the world's best. They still have to come to us. It was a good result for us though, one we deserved."

Fabio Coentrao had particular reason to curse De Gea's agility. It was the full-back's curling shot De Gea tipped onto the post in the opening minutes and the Portugal star was also denied in the second half after creeping in at the far post.

On that occasion, De Gea saved with his feet, proving yet again that while a packed Premier League penalty area might not be to his linking, in pure shot-stopping terms he is up there with the very best.

"It all happened so fast," he said. "I got across and was lucky enough to save it with my feet. Overall, I am very happy with my performance. I am improving every (match) at Old Trafford and I am very happy."

Former United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich knows exactly what it is like to be under the severest scrutiny with the Red Devils. And, speaking in his native Australia, Bosnich feels the criticism of De Gea has been harsh in the extreme.

"He has been criticised time again in United's goal," said Bosnich. "It has been very harsh and has come from people who don't really know.

"When you're in goal at the Bernabeu you can feel Madrid's momentum. The roar becomes deafening. I speak from experience. I was fortunate enough to stand in those very shoes when United played against Real Madrid in (the) 2000 quarter-final. It's some experience.

"So well done to David De Gea. He has been linked with a move back to Madrid - possibly as Iker Casillas' replacement at Real - but I hope he stays in the Premier League and continues to prove his value."

by: football.co.uk

Manchester United financial outlook looks brighter

Manchester United's Champions League run and new sponsorship deals have put the club on course for a bumper financial season.

On Wednesday the club announced significant rises in income and profits for the three-month period ending December 2012. Six new sponsorship deals have seen commercial revenues rise 29.0% compared to the same period in 2011.

It puts United on course to put last year's overall revenue fall - caused by early exits in the Champions League and FA Cup - behind them.

For the 2012-13 financial year United are now forecasting revenue to be "350million to 360milllion" compared to 320million last year, which was 3.3% down.

Ed Woodward, United's executive vice-chairman said: "Manchester United achieved record revenue....in the second quarter driven by our commercial operation, which continues to experience extremely strong growth particularly in sponsorship."

The club's gross debt has decreased by 16.1% since 30 June 2012 to 436.9million.

by: football.co.uk

Manchester United reunion was emotional says Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo refused to celebrate his goal during Wednesday night's 1-1 draw with Manchester Unitedout of respect for his six years with the Old Trafford club.

Ronaldo scored Real Madrid's first-half equaliser afterDanny Welbeck had put the visitors ahead in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie at the Bernabeu. Instead of celebrating the former world player of the year opted to acknowledge the Real fans before making an almost apologetic gesture to the Red Devils dug-out.

"I was in Manchester for six years so tonight was very emotional for me," the Portuguese said. "I scored a goal but I didn't celebrate out of respect."

He added: "Maybe United are favourites now, maybe not. Anything can happen. Sometimes we are better away than at home so we will see. It will be amazing to play at Old Trafford again after four years. It will be another emotional night."

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed Ronaldo went into the United dressing room to speak with his old team-mates. "I spoke to him. He is sitting in our dressing room, talking to the lads," said the United boss. "He had six years with us and I am proud of how he flourished.

"I blamed Patrice Evra for not challenging for his goal until I saw the replay and felt a bit stupid. His knee is about as high as Evra's head - phenomenal. I don't think any other player in the world can do that, certainly not Messi."

Ferguson said he would have accepted the result prior to kick-off. However, it required a series of outstanding saves from David de Gea to ensure the tie remained deadlocked.

"De Gea was excellent," Ferguson said. "He made three or four top saves. He has been improving all season. There was one save in the first half which he touched onto the post (from Coentrao) which was superb."

Ferguson also had words of praise for United's other stand-out performer Welbeck. "He was marvellous," said Ferguson. "It is a pity he got cramp at the end of game, but he worked so hard. They found it difficult to handle him."

Ferguson revealed he left out skipper Nemanja Vidic as a direct consequence of United's Premier League encounter with Everton being shifted to last Sunday. "If we had played on the Saturday, the extra day would have suited me, but he plays one game every eight or nine days and still has to manage his comeback from injury," said Ferguson.

by: football.co.uk

Rating The Players In Real Madrid v Manchester United

The Red Devils will now host Real Madrid at Old Trafford in the second leg with a crucial away goal.Danny Welbeck opened the scoring for Manchester United with a well taken 20th minute header, only for former Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo to score with his own header on the half hour mark.

David de Gea - 4.5/5 - Man Of The Match - This was the night David De Gea came of age. Denied Fabio Coentrao with a finger tip save in the opening stages, before using an unorthodox style to keep out the same man in the 60th minute. With a lack of crossing and high balls the Spaniard looked impressive, and kept United in the game with a string of late saves against a rampant Madrid side.

Rafael - 2.5/5 - Claimed he knew how to tame Ronaldo but failed to live up to the task. It was far from a poor performance from the Brazilian, but not his best. Was allowed to attack down the right when Ronaldo switched flanks or moved in centrally.

Rio Ferdinand - 3/5 - Showed his composure on the ball throughout the 90 minutes, nullifying the effect of Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain. Was rested against Everton last weekend, but came back into the starting to line up and proved his class to Sir Alex Ferguson.

Jonny Evans - 3.5/5 - Arguably the number one centre back at Old Trafford these days, the Northern Irish international looked calm and composed next to Rio Ferdinand. Showed no signs of the supposed injury he picked up at Everton.

Patrice Evra - 3/5 - Should never have been allowed to be left alone with Ronaldo at the back post, and was powerless to resist the Portuguese star in the air. Was extremely unlucky that Varane was not punished for a trip when he might have raced through on goal against Lopez.

Phil Jones - 3/5 - Another typical performance from Phil Jones. Sat deep in midfield with Carrick anticipating and snuffing out Real Madrid counterattacks. Seems to be increasingly gaining the trust of his manager and on this evidence it is easy to see why.

Michael Carrick - 3.5/5 Spent the majority of the game in his own half as Madrid overflowed the midfield. Made some crucial interceptions to deny Ronaldo and co. A typical performance from the Englishman.

Wayne Rooney 2/5 - Far from his best performance in a Manchester United shirt, proven by his late substitution with Anderson. Tried to dictate the game with short, quick passing before being forced to revert to Hollywood passes.

Shinji Kagawa 2.5-5 - Made some dangerous runs against the Madrid defence as he looked to use his intelligence and pace to be beat the high line of Madrid. Was subbed off for Ryan Giggs in the 63rd minute.

Danny Welbeck 4/5 - A brilliant performance from Danny Welbeck. Held the ball up well when his side was under pressure, whilst scoring a wonderful opener from a van Persie corner. Has struggled for goals this season, but you wouldn't of thought so with a finish like that.

Robin van Persie 3/5 - Had plenty of chances to put his side into the lead as well as finish Madrid off but failed to put the ball in the back of net. Saw a shot tipped on to the bar and cleared off the line. Proved to be as equally useful in his own box as well as Madrid's with numerous headed clearances.

Substitutions.

Ryan Giggs - 2.5/5 - Tightened the United midfield by sitting deeper and narrower than Kagawa had done. Presented with a good chance in the Real Madrid penalty area late in the game, but decided to take a touch instead of shooting first time.

Anderson 2.5/5 - A late swap for Rooney. Failed to make any impact on the game, but did nothing wrong.

Antonio Valencia 2/5 - Continued his dire run of form with a disappointing display. Got booked late on.

Real Madrid.

Diego Lopez 3/5 - There was nothing he could do to prevent Welbeck heading United into the lead but he raced off his line bravely to prevent the England forward from meeting Van Persie's cross later in the first half. Tipped Van Persie's shot on to the bar before again denying the Dutchman late on. A good performance from the Real Madrid goalkeeper.

Alvaro Arbeloa - 2.5/5 - Contributed little to Real Madrid's attack as he had plenty to think about in a defensive capacity, with the interchanging and overlapping of Kagawa, Van Persie and Welbeck sometimes stretching him. Looked the shakiest of all Madrid defenders.

Sergio Ramos 3/5 - Captain for the night, Ramos failed to cope with the explosiveness of Welbeck when the striker headed United into the lead. The movement of the visitors' forwards gave them a potent counterattack but Ramos was generally able to shepherd shooters into difficult positions.

Raphael Varane 3/5 - Was lucky to stay on the pitch after a blatant foul on Patrice Evra. However, performed with a confidence that defied his relative inexperience and age. Distributed the ball from defence calmly.

Fabio Coentrao - 2.5/5 - Got forward to good effect from left-back and was twice denied a goal by De Gea's brilliant athleticism.

Xabi Alonso - 3.5/5 - Classy performance from the Spaniard. Cleared one off the line from Van Persie, and demonstrated his quick-thinking by releasing Ozil with one brilliant long pass from a free kick.

Sami Khedira - 2.5/5 - A useful physical presence in midfield, recycling possession for the most part but also possessing the ability to power through the middle. Was unlucky to see David De Gea save and hold on to his 20 yard half volley.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 4/5 - Brought his team level with a wonderful header after a phenomenal leap that drew his knees level with the helpless Evra's head. Might have added to his tally in similar circumstances but nodded wide under pressure from Evans. Proved his class with his celebration after scoring his goal, showing his strong affection to the Manchester Club.

Mesut Ozil - 3.5/5 - A classy performance from the German playmaker. His agility and ability to create angles is a joy to behold and he worked some good openings for his side who should have made more from him.

Angel Di Maria - 3/5 - Almost beat De Gea with a world class strike in the 53rd minute. It was a surprise to see him substituted, as he had cut across the penalty area repeatedly to engineer shooting opportunities only to be regularly thwarted by De Gea. Provided the cross for Ronaldo's goal.

Karim Benzema - 2.5/5 - Largely ineffective during his hour on the field. Withdrawn for Gonzalo Higuan.

Substitutions:

Gonzalo Higuain - 2.5/5 Was just as ineffective as Benzema, although managed to pull off one shot. Seems to be in similiar form to his strike partner. 

Luka Modric 3/5 - Came on and tidied things up in midfield for Madrid. Failed to have a massive effect on the game though.

Pepe - 2.5/5 Came on late for Alonso and sat in midfield. Still looking to regain match fitness.

by: football.co.uk

Real and United finish all square in Madrid first leg

Danny Welbeck and Cristiano Ronaldo headed a first-half goal apiece as Real Madrid and Manchester United played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the last-16 of the Champions League on Wednesday.

Former United star Ronaldo levelled on 30 minutes with his seventh Champions League goal of the season, making him the top-scorer in the competition, after Welbeck had headed home a corner 10 minutes earlier.

Alex Ferguson had promised goals before the match and they came early enough, but then his team put on a battling performance with David De Gea excellent in goal to take a draw into the second leg at Old Trafford on March 5.

Before kick-off all the talk was about the exclusion of a centre-half on either side.

It was expected that Pepe, who has only managed 25 minutes since an ankle operation at the turn of the year, would not be risked in such a big game for Real.

However, the omission for the visitors of Nemanja Vidic was a surprise after the Serb failed to even make the bench after captaining his side in a 2-0 win over Everton on Sunday.

Sami Khedira had the first effort for the home team in the second minute on finding space in the area, but he pulled his shot well wide.

Next it was Angel Di Maria who tried his luck from outside the area before De Gea tipped a goal bound shot from Fabio Coentrao onto the post.

United weathered the early storm and when Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa combined well to win a corner on 20 minutes it was Welbeck who eluded the marking of Ramos to head home the opening goal and his first in the competition this season.

Ronaldo hammered wide the rebound of his own blocked free-kick before grabbing the equaliser 10 minutes later when he leapt above Patrice Evra to head home a Di Maria cross from the left.

Moments later Welbeck was inches from his second after good work on the left by Robin Van Persieand Wayne Rooney shot wide from the resultant corner.

Alonso then took a quick free-kick from his own half that put Mesut Ozil through and De Gea had to be quick to block the shot.

Ronaldo tested De Gea with a shot on the turn early in the second-half and Di Maria tried from further out before the Argentinian volleyed just wide.

While Madrid were enjoying a lot of the possession, United continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack while managing to restrict the home side to long shots.

Real boss Jose Mourinho decided to change things around on the hour withdrawing Karim Benzema for Gonzalo Higuain.

A minute later De Gea made the save of the game stopping Coentrao from close range with his outstretched foot.

Then Van Persie had two chances within a minute to restore United's lead with 20 minutes remaining.

The first shot was pushed onto the bar by Diego Lopez after Rooney had played him into space before he miskicked an easier chance.

United's defensive play grew throughout the game, the experienced Rio Ferdinand organised well the centre of defence, while Michael Carrick aided by Phil Jones and a very deep Rooney tidied up a lot in the centre of the pitch.

When Madrid did get through in the final minutes it was again Madrid-born De Gea, signed from city rivals Atletico, who was at hand to save from Khedira on 80 minutes.

There was still time for Ronaldo to float a free-kick just over the bar and Diego Lopez to tip wide a Van Persie shot in injury time.

by: football.co.uk