José Mourinho believes the “world will stop” when Real Madrid face Manchester United at Old Trafford in their hugely anticipated encounter in which he expects each side to be bold as they seek to progress.
While Alex Ferguson warned his team not to fear the threat of the returning Cristiano Ronaldo, who is in superb form, with the last-16 tie standing at 1-1 following the opening leg, United have what would be a decisive away goal if the match ends goalless.
Tilt the tie
In front of a packed press conference at Old Trafford a subdued Mourinho was asked what would tilt the tie for his side.
“I have no idea. They are in a fantastic run, better than ever. An FA Cup quarter-final, winning the Premier League already in March and they don’t lose a match in months,” he said. “We are also in good form in 2013 – 12 or 13 matches with one defeat is quite a good result.
“That is the one million dollar question: what will make the difference? Nobody knows and the world will stop to watch this tie. It doesn’t look a tie. It looks a final. I doubt the expectation can be bigger than this one.”
Mourinho, who has only his captain, Iker Casillas, unavailable due to a hand injury, does not believe United will be as cagey as in the opening leg. In that game Danny Welbeck scored first before Ronaldo equalised before the break.
During the second half United were forced to defend for long spells.
The Real Madrid manager said: “They will be very defensive when we have the ball and it will be the same for us when they have the ball. They are a strong attacking side and we will have to defend stoutly. Even though we are effectively behind in the tie, as they have the goal, we will have to attack and be bold.”
Madrid arrive at Old Trafford having beaten Barcelona twice in five days – in the Copa del Rey and La Liga. Yet Mourinho, in what was a carefully worded briefing, played down the significance of those wins. “We come here after two victories but if we come here after two defeats, our feeling would be the same,” he said.
Six wins over Ferguson
When managing Porto, Chelsea and Inter, Mourinho recorded six wins over Ferguson, with the Scot managing two for United. There were six draws. But, yet again, Mourinho was reluctant to show any of his usual confidence.
“I won, I lost, I draw,” the Portuguese said. “I don’t care about records. I know football and big matches well enough to know we can go through or we can go out.”
United v Real Some key battles
Ferdinand v Ronaldo
Ronaldo will float around looking for weaknesses – he found one jumping with Patrice Evra in the first leg – but by definition, he needs to be somewhere within sight of United's goal. In-form Ferdinand has to stop him.
Carrick v Alonso
The pace of the contest will be dictated by these two. Carrick is back to his best but Alonso is equally capable of cutting defences to shreds with a killer pass.
Van Persie v Ramos
Van Persie's form is not quite what it was and he missed a golden chance in the Bernabeu. Ramos scored the winner against Barcelona on Saturday but it is his defensive capabilities that need to be tested.
