Manchester United Cruise, Make Finals in Goalfest

Manchester United cruised into the World Club Cup finals with a convincing 5-3 victory over Japanese side Gamba Osaka. The game was filled with goals and was a joy to behold as Gamba Osaka went out to attack Manchester United and never gave up despite being down 5-1. The final sixteen minutes saw a total of six goals.

Goals by Vidic in the 28th and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 46th minute gave Manchester United a 2-0 lead at the half. Gamba Osaka got one back when Masato Yamazaki made it 2-1 with a nice shot in the 74th.

However, Wayne Rooney came on substituting for Carlos Tevez and he made an immediate impact. Rooney scored in the 75th minute, followed by Darren Fletcher (78th) and then another Rooney goal in the 79th. In a mere four minutes any thought of an upset were put to rest.

Gamba Osaka kept at it though and were able to leave a great impression as a penalty kick by Yasuhito Endo (85th) and Hideo Hashimoto (91st) made the final scoreline somewhat respectable and saw the game end 5-3.

The result sets up the awaited final between Manchester United of England and Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito of Ecuador on Sunday. If the semifinal games were any indicator, then it looks like this will be a great match.

Quito cruise to finals; San Lorenzo take first win

Liga Deportivo Universitaria de Quito (LDUQ) continued its historic run today with a 2-0 victory over Pachuca FC in a game in which they barely broke a sweat. LDUQ, the first Ecuadorian team to win the Copa Libertadores, got an early lead in the fourth minute by Claudio Bieler and then doubled it in the 25th with a beautiful free kick from Luis Bolanos.

After that, they decided to sit back, as Pachuca desperately tried to make another comeback just like they did in the first game, when they beat Al Ahly (Egypt) 4-2 after being down 2-0. Pachuca did have some opportunities, but some sloppy finishing kept them from booking a ticket into the finals.

LDUQ will now await the winner of tomorrow's Manchester United/Gamba Osaka matchup. Quito will be hoping to make some more history Sunday.

The first game of the three way playoff between Boca Juniors, Tigre and San Lorenzo was played today. Tigre and San Lorenzo squared off and there was no doubt which team was the better side. San Lorenzo came out strong and in the 18th and 20th minute put the game out of reach with goals from Pablo Barrientos and Gonzalo Bergessio. San Lorenzo had various chances to extend their advantage, but they were unable to do so. It looked like it would prove costly when Tigre got a goal back on a header by Leandro Lázzaro. Tigre was not able to threaten though.

The game was coming to a close when a shocking incident doomed Tigre. Their goalkeeper, Daniel Islas (one of the best during the league play), allowed his temper to get the better of him. Barrientos collided with the goalkeeper due to his momentum. Islas did not have the ball, but both players were able to brace for the hit and niether went down. It seemed like a minor incident until Islas allowed his temper to get the better of him and shoved the San Lorenzo attacker in the face, leading to a straight red card.

San Lorenzo won 2-1 and if they beat Boca Juniors Saturday, they could win the league title. Tigre is now on the outside looking in as they need to beat Boca Juniors and hope that San Lorenzo lose. They will also be without their goalkeeper.