Sir Alex Ferguson was a little more gracious in defeat than Jose Mourinho after Manchester United followed Chelsea out of the Champions League, but excuses still had to be made and blame still had to be placed. For not the first time, Fergie blamed the English Premier League for its scheduling, which burned out his players. Whereas Milan was able to rest nine of its starters over the weekend, United had to “run the extra mile” to beat Everton last Saturday. He fumed that the team’s next match — the Manchester derby against City — is already less than two days away — with a 12:45 pm kickoff.
It should be noted that Chelsea has been faced with the same situation, and Mourinho has given similar complaints. It should also be noted that Milan could afford to rest its players because the Scudetto has already been decided, and the team’s Champions League place is nearly assured.
There can be no doubt that Milan looked fresher than United, but there was more to Milan’s 3-0 win than freshness: as Ferguson conceded, United was outclassed. That said, the San Siro also looked a very intimidating place to play, but United’s makeshift defense — again — looked exactly that: Kaka was all alone on the first goal, while Wes Brown’s poor defensive header fell to a wide-open Clarence Seedorf at the top of the 18. There can be no question such errors cost United this tie, as each of Milan’s goals over the two legs came down to poor defending.