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Sun: WAYNE ROONEY claims Manchester United’s R ’n R strike force is at its brilliant best.
And that means no rest or relaxation for United’s rivals in Europe, the Premiership or the FA Cup.
Two goals from Roo and one from Cristiano Ronaldo ensured United will feature in the first Cup final at the new Wembley on May 19.
Rooney, 21, who now has 19 goals this season, said: “I don’t think we have ever played as well as this. We are playing some brilliant attacking football and opening teams up. I am delighted to be part of that. The Cup final will be historic. It’s always nice to make history.
“It’s brilliant to be going to the new Wembley. It would be great to score the winner but, at the moment, I would take anybody scoring as long as he plays for United.
“I don’t want a rest. I am feeling fit and strong and just want to play.”
Kieran Richardson added the fourth goal for United in an awesome exhibition of power, pace and precise passing. Rooney says the win was inspired by memories of losing to Arsenal in a penalty shootout in the 2005 FA Cup final.
He said: “The defeat two years ago was disappointing and now we have the chance to make up for it. Growing up, you watch the FA Cup final on TV. I went there in 1995 to watch Everton play. They beat United that day so I hope it doesn’t turn out that way this time.”
Sun : MANCHESTER UNITED’S parent company made a pre-tax loss of £137.7million in the first year of Malcolm Glazer’s ownership.Red Football JV Limited suffered the deficit between May 2005 — when the tycoon completed his takeover of United — and June 30 last year.More than half of the loss — £85.2m — was due to interest payments on the debt Glazer took on to carry out his £809.1m takeover.But a Glazer family spokesman insisted: “The accounting losses have absolutely no bearing on the strong underlying financial performance of Manchester United, which is enjoying record revenues.”
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Mirror : ANY youngsters eager for news of the anti-knife crime hip-hop gig being organised by Rio Ferdinand might like to check out the Manchester United defender ’s MySpace website.There’s no ticket news as yet, but you do find out that role model Rio’s favourite book is the biography of Curtis ‘Cocky’ Warren, a Liverpudlian gangster and cocaine dealer.Sadly Curtis won’t be able to make it to Rio’s concert - he’s behind bars until 2012 after stabbing a fellow prisoner to death.
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Jose Mourinho believes Chelsea and Manchester United have earned the right to contest the season’s major prizes between themselves over what could be an unprecedented three-match finale to the campaign.Speaking after his side had booked an FA Cup final date with United with an extra-time win over Blackburn, the Chelsea boss admitted he would relish the prospect of facing Sir Alex Ferguson’s side three times in the space of 15 days next month.
Chelsea face United at Stamford Bridge on May 8th in a match that could be decisive in the Premiership title battle, which United currently lead by three points.The first Cup final at the new Wembley is on May 19 and the two clubs could meet again four days later in the Champions League final in Athens.
For that to happen, United must overcome AC Milan while Chelsea have to get the better of Liverpool in their respective semi-finals.”At the end of the season people will qualify the top teams in Europe in relation to the trophies you win,” Mourinho said. “If Milan or Liverpool win the Champions League, maybe people will look at them as the top team, but the reality is that what Man United and Chelsea are doing this season is unbelievable.”I just hope the match at Stamford Bridge is also a final. I just hope we can keep on the run we are in now and play that game with a chance to be champion.”
Mourinho’s chance to get his hands on the only piece of English silverware to have eluded him was secured by Michael Ballack, whose extra-time winner finally settled a semi-final Blackburn might easily have won in the closing stages of regulation time after Jason Roberts had cancelled out Frank Lampard’s opener for Chelsea.
Mourinho acknowledged there would have been no way back for his side if Morten Gamst Pedersen had been able to convert a glorious late chance to put Blackburn in front and he paid tribute to the contribution of Mark Hughes’s side to an encounter that he described as “incredible propoganda for English football.”
He added: “When I saw the game going to the end, I was afraid. I was not worried about extra time but if they scored then, probably it was all over.”
Hughes acknowledged that Pedersen’s miss with a free header from barely six yards out had been perhaps the decisive moment in the match.
“Everyone of my players put in a performance they can be proud of,” he said. “They have run a top quality Chelsea side very close and I doubt if they have had a harder game all season.
“Extra time came too soon for us. Another ten minutes with the momentum we had I think we would have won it. We had a fantastic chance with Morten and, on on another day he is the guy you want to be faced with a header in the middle of the goal to score. But it was not to be.”
