Manchester United boss targets away goals at Chelsea

Champions League quarter-final first leg

United's Vidic could face Torres at Chelsea where his side last won in 2002

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Manchester United to progress in the Champions League - if they gain an advantage in the quarter-final first leg at Chelsea.

United's manager will send his side out to score goals at Stamford Bridge in order to put them in a strong position for the return leg in Manchester.
"If we go back to Old Trafford with some advantage, we will be very difficult to beat," said Ferguson.
"The name of the game is to go back with a goal or maybe two."
Ferguson added: "On this occasion, I was quite happy to get the second leg at Old Trafford. It will be a magnificent atmosphere there."
United go into Wednesday's first leg without an away win over Chelsea for nine years. On 1 March they lost 2-1 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League and their captain Nemanja Vidic was sent off.
Ferguson played down that record and stated: "The last few years have been poor in terms of results but we have played well."
But Vidic believes Chelsea's recent record against his team gives them the advantage.
"They have an edge because they had good ones [results] against us," said Vidic.

"But this is the Champions League. The name of the game on Wednesday is to get an away goal."
He added: "Our performances at Chelsea in the last two or three years have been really good.
"We have played some good football but in the end, we didn't get good results. Now I am thinking we should play badly and win."
Vidic could find himself up against Fernando Torres, an opponent who seemed to thrive against him when he played for Liverpool, but who is still awaiting his first goal for Chelsea since his £50m move to London.
Chelsea's strikers have struggled to hit the target of late, with many of their goals coming from midfielders and even defenders, but Vidic said United would not read anything into that.
"It doesn't give us any confidence," he continued. "Chelsea have good strikers and we have a lot of respect for them.
"Just because they haven't been scoring goals, they will still be doing their best. And in a cup tie, what matters is who wins, not who gets the goals."
United striker Wayne Rooney, who is facing an FA charge for swearing into a television camera after scoring a hat-trick against West Ham on Saturday, missed training on Tuesday morning for treatment for a bruised shin. But Ferguson said he was "sure" the England man would be fit for the Chelsea clash.
United have fared better against Chelsea on neutral territory, beating them on penalties in the 2008 Champions League final in Moscow and in the 2010 Community Shield at Wembley.
Despite that 2008 success, Ferguson said he does not expect revenge to be on the mind of the Chelsea players.
"I don't believe that players think about revenge," he said.
"Something that happened three years ago goes out of your mind quite quickly.
"It doesn't matter who you play or when you play them. You just want to win the game."
And Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard later echoed Ferguson's sentiments.
"I really promise you, revenge certainly isn't in our minds," said the midfielder, who scored the equaliser in the 2008 final.

Chelsea peaking at right time - Lampard

"When you play for a long period of time, as I have here, you see the ups and downs. You collect them.
"You don't any feel thoughts of revenge or anything against anyone. You understand you can't always be successful and win."
The Champions League is a trophy that has so far eluded Chelsea and their wealthy owner Roman Abramovich who has spent millions in attempting to turn the club into the best in Europe.
But Lampard, who on Wednesday will become the fourth Chelsea player to play 500 games for the club, says it is important for the players not to become obsessed by the one major trophy that has eluded them.
"We've been so close and every year we've got close, people talk about it even more," he said.
"They talk about the burden, the fate, and the destiny of the occasion.
"We try not to think about it like that because that can weigh you down. Every year it almost gets tougher."
He added: "There's nothing worse than the feeling of losing a Champions League final and semi-finals in different circumstances.
"There's no point being negative and crying about them - they're all experiences.
"We hope that one day we'll have one huge positive experience that will make all the other ones easily forgotten."

Article Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/12968589.stm

Real Madrid 4 - 0 Tottenham

Adebayor jumped above Jenas to head Real Madrid in front

Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as 10-man Tottenham were overpowered by Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Adebayor out-jumped Jermaine Jenas to head Real in front after four minutes.
Peter Crouch was sent off after 14 minutes when he was booked for a second time before Adebayor looped a header over Heurelho Gomes to double the lead.
Angel di Maria rifled a stunning third goal from the edge of the area and Cristiano Ronaldo volleyed a fourth.
Prior to the game Harry Redknapp had talked about Tottenham's Champions League "dream", but as the much-anticipated clash got under way at the imposing Bernabeu Stadium the Spurs boss was quickly caught up in a nightmare.
The Premier League outfit had been dealt a blow minutes before kick-off when Aaron Lennon was taken ill with a sore throat and was replaced by Jenas.

And Jenas was to have an unwanted hand in the opening goal, when Manchester City loanee Adebayor rose above the midfielder on the penalty spot and powered a header past Gomes and through the legs of Luka Modric on the line to put the home side ahead.
Tottenham, previously so effervescent in Europe, looked nervous, perhaps overawed by the sense of occasion at the intimidating home of the Spanish giants or possibly overcome by their early setbacks.
Former England manager Graham Taylor said on BBC Radio 5 live: "From the word go Tottenham looked unsettled. Whether it was the loss of Lennon or the occasion, they needed to do a lot more to make an impression on this game."
Real boss Jose Mourinho had seen his 150-match nine-year unbeaten home league record come to an end on Saturday with a 1-0 loss against Sporting Gijon but his team showed no hangover as they moved ruthlessly through the gears.
With Spurs looking ragged, their chance of getting back into the first leg received a near fatal blow when Crouch was sent off.
Having already been shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Sergio Ramos, Crouch was booked for a second time for an almost identical slide tackle on Marcelo and the striker, who has scored seven goals in nine Champions League games this season, was given his marching orders by German referee Felix Brych.
Tottenham had finished top of their Champions League group, which included holders Inter Milan, and then knocked out AC Milan without conceding a goal over two legs in the last-16, but signs of that confident side were few and far between as Real launched wave after wave of attacks.
Tottenham's first real opportunity came when a run down the left wing by Gareth Bale forced Xabi Alonso to slide the ball out of play.
Bale took a throw long and found Rafael van der Vaart in the box with his back to goal but the Dutchman was crowded out before he could get his shot away.

Minutes later Bale created Spurs' best opportunity of the night with a burst of pace as he darted past Ramos and into the box but the Welshman fired into the side netting.
Just as Tottenham seemed to find some rhythm, Real almost doubled their lead as Marcelo's deep cross was headed back across goal by Ramos but bounced millimetres over the head of Adebayor on the back post.
Bale, looking increasingly threatening, again hurtled down the left and drew a challenge from Pepe, who hacked down Spurs' danger man and received a yellow card which means he will be suspended for the second leg at White Hart Lane.
Real had a strong claim for a penalty turned down when Michael Dawson appeared to handle in the box as he charged down Angel di Maria's volley.
When the whistle blew for half-time, Redknapp would have been buoyed by the way his players had worked their way back into the game.
But their brave resistance was not to last, as the second half was turned into a Real Madrid attacking master class, with the Spanish side notching up 18 attempts on target over the course of the game.
It was former Arsenal man Adebayor who scored his second of the game to give Real a cushion, making it 10 goals in 13 games against Tottenham for the Togalese striker, who met Marcelo's cross when unmarked in the box and looped his header over Gomes.
Real continued to surge forward, with former Manchester United forward Ronaldo, the world's most expensive footballer, pulling the strings.
It was Argentina forward Di Maria who scored the third goal when he stepped inside onto his left foot on the edge of the area and rifled an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
The substitutions as the game went on illustrated the gulf between the two sides with Mourinho able to throw Brazil star Kaka and Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain into the fray.
And Ronaldo finally got the goal his effort deserved when he volleyed Kaka's cross into the corner from a tight angle to all but end Tottenham's Champions League adventure.

Article Source:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/9445378.stm