70,000 fans inside Old Trafford were given flashbacks to the treble-winning side of 1999 as two headers were enough to see Man Utd into the last 8 of the Champions League. It was back in the month of March 1999, when two Dwight Yorke headers were enough to defeat Inter Milan 2-0 at Old Trafford, before Manchester United went on to win a famous treble. And this year, they are gunning for an incredible five trophies...
The current Champions of Europe could not have imagined a better start with Nemanja Vidic rising unmarked in the box, before placing his header perfectly into the Inter Milan net, with just three minutes gone. It was an ex-Arsenal player of all people, Patrick Vieira, who completely lost track of the ball and handed the advantage to the home side, which they failed to capatalise on.
Despite the uncertain start, Inter found their feet and started creating good opportunities to equalise. The most notable was Ibrahimovic's header which bounced off the turf in front of Van Der Sar, before rattling the cross bar. It was to be one of those frustrating nights for the Swede, who had a sublime first half, and was next-to-anonymous in the second.
Stankovic also tried his luck from range in the 36th minute, only to see Van Der Sar tip his effort beyond the post. It was a heart-in-mouth moment for the Manchester United fans, as they sat nervously in the knowledge a goal for the Italians was enough to knock them out of the competition.
However, just two minutes later, O'Shea had a chance to give the home side the two goal cushion that they craved, after great work from Rooney and Giggs. Giggs received the ball from O'Shea, before he knocked it in-field to Rooney. It was he who subsequently flicked the ball, first-time, into the path of O'Shea, but he couldn't convert his one-on-one against Julio Cesar.
And such was the theme of the match at this point, that Inter could have found their equaliser just a few minutes later, as Ibrahimovic found himself through on goal. However, the ever-frustrating Ibrahimovic managed to beat Van Der Sar, only to see his effort narrowly miss the far post. It is these inches that make champions.
The teams went down the tunnel at half-time, and niether manager could have been too upset by what they had seen, Ferguson had the goal he wanted, and Mourinho knew a goal was enough. Mourinho brought Muntari on at half-time for Patrick Vieira, reverting to the more conventional diamond formation. It would have been interesting to see what the outcome would have been if Inter would have kept United at bay in the second half, but it was not to be.
After coming under pressure themselves early in the second half, United sprung a classic counter-attack, playing some sublime football in the process. The ball eventually ended up with Rooney on the corner of the Inter penalty box, who teased the defender before flicking an inch-perfect ball into the path of a marauding Ronaldo, who nodded home from seven yards. The tie was all but over.
Like typical champions, United started to kill the game, keeping possession for long periods and taking the sting out of the Italian champions. Mourinho decided to unleash the inconsistent Adriano, in a last-ditch attempt to rescue the tie, and his instincts were almost instantly rewarded. The 'almost' Brazilian flicked the ball out to Zanetti, who turned and flicked it back into Adriano's path. Demonstrating quite sublime technique, Adriano's scissor kick was so beautiful it deserved a goal, but it bounced off the inside of the Manchester United post. Three inches to the right and the tie could have been so much different, but United pinched the inch yet again, as they have so often done this season.
That was the last real spark we seen from the Italians going forward, as the epic encounter between two European giants just faded away. Mourinho shook the hand of his Scottish counterpart at the end of the match; a counterpart, who he had so often got the better of, but not even 'The Special One' could derail the consistent United.
The train keeps a-rollin' for United, who will now face Liverpool in the Premiership on Saturday. Ferguson has a big enough squad to warrant his rotation system in recent times, something which Benitez does not have at his disposal. It is the final call for the Liverpool side, if they win, they may just put an iota of doubt into the minds of the United players, but lose and the Premiership trophy will remain at Old Trafford for at least another year.
And for Inter Milan, similar to Real Madrid, their attentions focus back on their domestic ambitions, and strengthening in the summer. The Italian league seems almost dead at the moment, and the big teams will have to go through major transitions to start challenging Europe's elite yet again.
It is evident when we see Luis Figo, Dejan Stankovic, Patrick Vieira and Javier Zanetti still playing for the Italian Champions. Again, starman Francesco Totti has donned the red of Roma tonight in their European tie against Arsenal, at the grand old age of 32. The golden boy of Italian football Alessandro Del Piero went into battle against Chelsea last night, at the age of 35.
Italian football is not what it used to be, and if the Liverpool match last night was evidence of a Premiership domination, tonight all but reaffirmed it. AC Milan, the evergreens of the Champions League cannot attract the talent they used to be able to, in the days of Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten.
It is for these reasons that many believe Mourinho is going to return to the Premiership very soon, where he will be able to pit his witts against some of the best managers and players in the world. Adriano could be another who leaves Italy and comes to British shores, even if it is not to one of the Champions League teams. Many foreign players now view teams like Aston Villa and Everton more attractive teams than Juventus or Valencia, as they are competing in a far more competitive league than the stagnant Spanish and Italian competitions.
Following the Manchester United victory, the mancunians will now believe more than ever that they could take all five competitions. Ferguson has said in the past that the current crop of players he has is better than his famous 1999 team. There is a fair way to go yet before they are widely given such appraisal, but if this season is anything to go by, they certainly have the potential.
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