NANI SEES RED

The Portuguese winger Luis Nani received a red card as Manchester United lost against Real Madrid in the last 16 stage of the Champions League. United were coming into the match on the back of the 1-1 draw in the first leg.

They were feeling extremely confident that they will be able to seal the progression to the quarter-final stage due to the home advantage. Things looked on the up for Manchester United when they took the lead through an own goal from Sergio Ramos. However, the red card received by Nani midway through the match changed the entire outlook.

Madrid were able to score two goals in the space of 12 min in the second half by taking advantage of the man advantage. The former United legend Cristiano Ronaldo scored the second goal for Madrid that put them 3-2 up on aggregate. After the match, though, the Real Madrid manager José Mourinho admitted that the best team did not go through. Even though Madrid were able to win the match, they were outplayed by United in both legs. Mourinho has recalled how his defender Pepe was sent off in the Champions league semi-final clash with Barcelona a few years ago in similar circumstances. Nani’s future at Old Trafford has been under a cloud of doubt.

“In my opinion, the best team lost. I think it had the same influence as the decision two years ago to send Pepe off in the semifinal. When you are talking about football at this level, with such a fine balance between two equally matched teams, playing with one man down is going to change a lot in the game,” said the Real Madrid manager. Madrid will learn their fate about the opponents for the quarter finals of the Champions League in the next few weeks.