Milan wreck United hopes
The Brazilian playmaker punished United's defensive frailties
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Wednesday, 02, May 2007 11:07
AC Milan will be Liverpool's opponents in the Champions League final after a devastating display of attacking football dispatched Manchester United 3-0 at the San Siro.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side made the trip to Italy with a slender 3-2 lead to defend from the first leg, but within ten minutes the hosts had snatched back the initiative with a typically-stylish strike from Kaka.
The Brazilian had been a thorn in the side of the United defence in the first leg and he scored his third goal of the tie with a shot that seared past Edwin Van der Sar from Clarence Seedorf's knock-down.
The goal failed to shake Manchester United out of their stupor and as the rain continued to pour down avoidable defensive lapses allowed the Rossoneri to push the game further beyond their reach.
Gabriel Heinze's pass played Nemanja Vidic into trouble and as the Serb stretched and slipped in his attempt to recover, Milan swept in to exploit the confusion with Seedorf planting the ball into the bottom corner.
Milan's weakness for second-half slumps, as seen in the first leg and in the 2005 final, gave some hope for a United recovery but Carlo Ancelotti had clearly briefed his team against any such complacency.
Kaka could have sealed the tie after he latched onto a wayward pass from Cristiano Ronaldo shortly after the restart and the Portuguese winger's anonymous evening continued as he wasted two well-placed free-kicks.
The home side's lead rarely looked in danger of being whittled away and,as Manchester United pressed more men forward in the final 15 minutes, a crisp counterpunch ended the contest.
Alberto Gilardino cantered into space behind the United backline before firing gleefully past a helpless Van der Sar to confirm Milan's place in Athens on May 23rd.