If Manchester United was jet-lagged, it certainly didn't show as the European champions scored in bunches to reach the Club World Cup final.
Wayne Rooney came off the bench to score two goals as Man Utd raced past Gamba Osaka, 5-3, in their Club World Cup semifinal on Thursday. The result sets up a final between Manchester United and Liga de Quito of Ecuador on Sunday.
The late rally gave Man Utd. a 5-1 lead before Gamba Osaka finished the match with a converted PK and a goal from Hideo Hashimoto in the 90th minute to make the scoreline more respectable.
Gamba Osaka will face Pachuca in a third-place match.
Here are some other stories to get your day going:
San Lorenzo wins three-time playoff opener
Midfielder Pablo Barrientos scored a goal and set up a second just three minutes later to help San Lorenzo get off to a winning start in its Argentine playoff mini-tournament as San Lorenzo beat Tigre, 2-1, on Wednesday in the first of three matches to determine Argentina's Apertura champion.
The victory now means that San Lorenzo can lock up the title with a win against Boca Juniors on Saturday.
Three more reach UEFA Cup Final 32
Polish club Lech Poznan and Danish club FC Copenhagen both scored victories in their final group matches to secure places in the UEFA Cup round of 32.
Poznan defeated Feyenoord to move past French club AS Nancy Lorraine for the final qualifying spot in its group, while FC Copenhagen beat Club Brugge, 1-0, to edge the Belgian side for its Round of 32 place.
Brad Guzan earned another start for Aston Villa in UEFA Cup play, but it came in a 3-1 loss to Hamburg on Wednesday. Aston Villa had already qualified for the final 32.
The six remaining spots in the Round of 32 will be determined on Thursday in the final set of group stage matches.
What do you think of these stories? Impressed with Manchester United's performance? Think Liga de Quito can put up a good fight against the European power? Will San Lorenzo clinch the title with a win on Saturday, or will Juan Riquelme and Boca Juniors take control of things with a victory of their own? Who do you see earning the final qualifying places in UEFA Cup today?
Share your thoughts below.
you guys are right brad guzan is the best goalie in teh world, and united staates produces the best goalies in the world hands down, italy and got nothin on US (thats a double meaning because its a us as in us an US as in the US…. if your still reading this right now and dont see im joking your a gigantic loser.)
Chris, considering the transfer window hasn’t opened yet, Subotic couldn’t have been sold. Secondly, I believe the story on GolTV said Napoli is reportedly intrested in him. Thats a long way from being sold.
im not embarassing myself your re embarassing your self troll. why dont you go falme some one else and make a point instead of being sarcastic troll. if guzan was good enough hed start im right your wrong i win you lose.
eric,
Ferguson is a giant hypocrite, he has done the same arrogant garbage that RM has with Ronaldo, numerous times to other clubs (most recently in his move to get Berbatov from Spurs)…
docsoccer,
You are embarrassing yourself…
you’re the man, doc, you’re the man.
actually the blame was on guzan if yow saw the game, get your facts straight., if guzan was good enough they wouldnt have signed freidel. so guzan sucks now and isnt good enough for the pl and hopefully in two years from now he will be able to start, hes only 24 but im not worried. he isnt even close to hahnemans quality who should be our #2.
The reason Villa didn’t start Guzan is they have some dude named Friedel. I heard he’s pretty good. And I didn’t watch the match yesterday, but the Guardian’s MBM didn’t lay blame on Guzan for the goals but on the defense, so I’m not too worried.
I loved Ferguson’s comments on Madrid, called them “that mob”, and said, “I wouldn’t sell them a virus”. Awesome.
dude mls cant teams cant even beat teams from panama trinidad and honduras and you think they can be a team from japan, your dreamin. also why would you be scared abouit howard hes great. also i knew this would happen to guzan he hasnt faced real competition. he is great at reaction saves like most american keepers bt the reason villa didnt start him straight away is american goalies lack postioning. thats why he is suffering all american keepers dont have good keeper coaches in the u.s and in europe positioning is what its all about. buffon the best because postioing, reina friedel. it took howard some time to adjust but he has some of teh best reactions in the world thats why he could make up for it. now at everton he is great at both and thier is no need to worry about him. also what about a soccer girl of the dya, like Heather mitts in a bikini so its still soccer based. or just alex morgan, lots of her?
Brokenbil:
That’s one of the worst games the Dynamo played all season. Bobby Boswell had played all of 2 games with the team beforehand, and the field was worse turf than Giants Stadium. Plus they sold their best player (Bare) to a club in the Qutar/UAE region, leaving them with a few Japanese NT players and Lucas as real threats. Are the top Japanese/Korean teams as good as the top MLS teams? Sure, but you put Gamba Osaka up against the Dynamo on grass at the end of the season this year, and it’s anybody’s game.
ManU would roll either of them.
I thought Torres played very well against Quito. Chris, what specifically are you referring to (or which game)?
I figure a Houston has a good chance at representing CONCACAF at the 2009 CWC.
MLS has a long way to go if they hope to succeed in the Club World Cup. Remember that Gamba Osaka destroyed Houston Dynamo 6-0 in the Pan-Pacific Championship final. Just imagine what Man U. would have done to the Dynamo… MLS is not ready to compete internationally outside of CONCACAF.
…and Guzan was shocking against Hamburg for Villa on Setanta. The post or the bar saved him 3 or 4 times, besides the 3 tath went in. Hamburg striker used his left and Guzan looked surprised that someone could actually shoot the ball that hard left-footed.
Our 1 and 2 keepers are making me very nervous. I don’t like that set-up at all.
heck, espn reported That Ronaldo has signed with Madrid for next summer, but it’s a ‘secret’
GolTV said yesterday that Subotic had been sold to Napoli. Know anything about that Ives?
What Cam said. I want Liga to win (not that I’m biased or anything…) and the challenge from Man Yoo will be severe, but they’re a team with nothing to lose and everything to gain, which makes them dangerous. I’m just hoping for a respectable showing at this point. Liga finished second in Ecuador after their Libertadores run, and lost some key players, namely Enrique Vera to America and Joffre Guerron to Getafe.
Most people look at these games as meaningless. But just imagine the day an MLS team is in this tourney… 😉 The teams seem to take it seriously enough, I think it’s worth paying attention.
Torres isn’t really doing himself any favors with his performace so far at the CWC and if he’s not carefull he’ll lose his starting spot to Luis Montes.
Can’t be good news for the US fans hoping to see him play a part in the first HEX match against Mexico.
I would love to see Liga de Quito beat Man U. Seeing a team relatively unknown on the global stage beat the biggest club in the world in a meaningful game would be a memorable moment in sports history. Hopefully they can repeat the success of Sao Paulo and Internacional.