Why AC Milan Can Beat Manchester United

Winning at the San Siro in the first leg sees Manchester United firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals. How can you ignore the obvious:  Three away goals. Wayne Rooney in the form of his life. Ferdinand and Vidic back together in defence for the first time in eons. Why bother watching, you say? Manchester United are already through, you claim? Not so, we counter. Here are three reasons why AC Milan have a good chance of beating Manchester United.

Samba swagger. AC Milan need to win by two clear goals if they’re going to feature in the quarter-final draw. And who better to bank your mortgage on scoring those goals? None other than the mouth-watering duo of Ronaldinho and Pato. Ronaldinho has been directly involved in four of the Rossoneri‘s last five goals in the Champions League (three strikes and one assist). Pato is back to his best having scored 4 goals in three games since the first-leg defeat.

Theatre of Dreams. Contrary to popular belief, Old Trafford is no longer a fortress in Europe Besides Besiktas sweeping all the points in 2009 and CSKA Moscow scoring three on the same patch three weeks earlier, AC Milan have a special fondness for the Theatre of Dreams. On the four occasions that the Rossoneri have met United in Europe, they’ve eliminated them from the competition. Incidentally, they’re the last side to win at Old Trafford in the knock-out stages of the Champions League back in February 2005.

Lucky Number 7. No preview of the tie would be complete without mentioning David Beckham. One of United‘s most famous Number 7s returns to Old Trafford seven years after being sold to Real Madrid. “Goldenballs” left Manchester under a cloud in 2003 after several run-ins with Sir Alex. Although the Essex lad is a lifelong United supporter, he’ll be determined to get one over his old mentor – and that should be inspiration enough for his entire team

Ronaldinho could prove England's nemesis once again