A Head Above The Rest

Real Madrid and Manchester United drew their UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 first-leg tie 1-1 in the first installment of the 'Match of the Century'; with the second leg coming up three weeks later on 5 Mar 13. The match was good if not great, with both sides flexing their offensive muscles and having chances to clinch a winner.

At the end of the day, often-maligned Man United goalkeeper David de Gea was the Man of the Match, making several excellent saves to deny the home side a victory, with his most notable save arguably the 6th minute stunner against Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao, when he somehow dived instinctively to turn it round the post one-handed.

Somewhat against the run of play, United took the lead in the 20th minute with a goal that would have disappointed Mourinho and the Madrid team. Direct from a left-wing Wayne Rooney corner, forward Danny Welbeck escaped the attentions of Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and angled a header past Diego Lopez, the reserve Real custodian. Ramos, so often a tough and aggressive defender, lost his concentration for a few moments and it paid dear.

Just ten minutes later, and it was the man Cristiano Ronaldo who brought his team back on level terms. Angel di Maria and Ronaldo switched sides and the former drifted a cross in, which I honestly thought was gonna be too high for Ronaldo. But to my amazement, Ronaldo produced a LeBron James-like leap and angled his header superbly into de Gea's goal. It was a moment of magic, and one that Ronaldo seemed destined to produce on this night.

In the second half, chances came and went, with both sides unable to eke out an advantage for the second leg. Overall, I thought Real's wingers Ronaldo and di Maria played well, and they will certainly be the danger-men again in the second leg. Mesut Oezil was also influential in the offensive third of the field. For United, I thought forwards van Persie and Welbeck looked lively throughout. But I must say both 'keepers showed their mettle to keep things all square. So on we move to a climactic second leg at Old Trafford. The true drama, is yet to come.