Manchester United Through to Carling Cup Final

In a dramatic second leg of the Carling Cup semifinal between Manchester United and Manchester City, United won 3-1 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate. Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick gave United a 2-0 lead before Carlos Tevez made it 2-1. Wayne Rooney scored the decisive goal in the 3rd minute of stoppage time as Manchester United booked their place in the final.

When the game started it promised to be a fierce duel between the two Manchester rivals. Manchester City led 2-1 from the first leg as they looked to win their first trophy in 34 years. But Manchester United have built an empire based on success over the last 20 odd years, and the cheque books flying out of Manchester City's endless coffers will need a lot more time to topple Sir Alex Ferguson's dynasty. The first half was a pretty even encounter as both teams tried their luck a few times. But as soon as the 2nd half began, United had a sharpness about them that showed exactly why they have been so successful. Every player in a red shirt put in a great shift, and there was only one team that was going to win this Carling Cup tie.

Paul Scholes fired United into the lead in the 52nd minute with a strike reminiscent of his younger days. What followed after that was wave upon wave of United attacks, and it was inevitable that someone in a red shirt would score. Wayne Rooney was playing as the lone striker, and he was showing the world exactly why he is known as the 'White Pele'. Michael Carrick scored the second goal in the 70th minute and that looked like the end of the story.

But Carlos Tevez once again showed his hunger to prove a point to the Old Trafford faithful. He scored an excellent goal in the 77th minute to make it 2-1 on the night, and 3-3 on aggregate. It looked like the match was going into extra time as United were unable to find a way past the excellent City goalkeeper, Shay Given.

But in the 2nd minute of stoppage time Rooney jumped up and emphatically headed the ball into the net to make it 4-3. Earlier in the season Michael Owen had scored on the same side of the pitch in the 5th minute of injury time to make it 4-3 on the day. This time though it was the darling of Manchester United who scored the winner and the crowd was in raptures. The threat of Manchester City was firmly brushed aside, albeit temporarily, and United booked their place in yet another final of the Carling Cup.

They now play Aston Villa on the 28th of February at Wembley stadium, to defend the Carling Cup title they won a year back. Wayne Rooney has already scored 21 goals this season, and is well on course to beat his previous season best of 23 goals. If he keeps playing like this, Manchester United will easily win all the trophies they are competing for, and he will complete a clean sweep of all individual awards in a season where United have been written off far too easily.