Del Bosque retains cautious air

By Tim Dykes

Vicente del Bosque retained a cautious attitude despite watching his Real Madrid CF side give a sparkling UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg performance to defeat Manchester United FC 3-1 in the Santiago Bernabéu.

'Should have settled it'
After watching Luis Figo's delightful 12th-minute chip and Raúl González's double hand Madrid a 3-0 lead inside 50 minutes, Del Bosque said: "We played brilliantly in the first half but we should have settled the game on the counterattack." He admitted ruefully that Madrid had had the "chances to finish off the tie".

Old Trafford memories
Recalling Madrid's 3-2 victory the last time the two sides met at Old Trafford in 2000, Del Bosque added: "The tie is wide open. Three years ago we were 3-0 up at Old Trafford and United didn't give up for a moment. We have to remember that. We could have won by even more but United are a very dangerous team and they also had chances."

Away goal
Despite racing into a three-goal lead, the home side pushed on relentlessly, allowing Ruud van Nistelrooij to claw back a goal for United - a strike which Sir Alex Ferguson believes could be crucial. "Away goals are important nowadays - I thought we had a chance of doing that tonight," Sir Alex said. "But I'm disappointed. Madrid have bought some great players over the last few years but, at the moment, Raúl is the best in the world. He is so difficult to play against when he starts taking up the positions he did here - he always seems to be an outlet for them and we never contained that part.

'Mesmerising Madrid'
"They [Madrid] mesemerise you at times with their control and passing - the way they play their midfield is very difficult to play against. Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane, with Raúl dropping into spaces, and they have that fantastic quality you have to really concentrate on. We know Zidane and Figo are great players but we could have handled that - Raúl was very difficult. My only hope is that he doesn't like travelling."

'Ray of hope'
Sir Alex has not lost hope ahead of the second leg in Manchester in 15 days' time, but realises his players are faced with an uphill battle. He said: "Real Madrid can play just as well away from home but obviously at Old Trafford we will play better - there will be more goals yet. We have a very difficult game, but the one ray of hope is the away goal. If we can score first, it will be an interesting night."

Raúl in agreement
Raúl, who scored a goal in each half, said: "The result is deserved but it is not what we wanted. It's a very good result but it's not decisive. The [Van Nistelrooij] goal was a set-back for us even though we had other chances, but the game had everything."

'Clear penalty'
Madrid were denied the opportunity to add to the scoreline when referee Anders Frisk turned down their penalty appeals as Ronaldo fell under Wes Brown's challenge in the 19th minute. The Brazilian striker said of the decision: "The penalty is the clearest penalty that has been committed against me in my life." One thing, however, is not yet clear: namely, which of these two European giants will be in the last four of the competition come the final whistle on 23 April.