United Dismantle Schalke to Close in On Final

Ryan Giggs slid home Manchester United's opener, making him the oldest goalscorer in Champions League history

Barring an unlikely Schalke victory at Old Trafford next week, Manchester United will contest the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28 after a one-sided encounter in Germany. Ryan Giggs and the outstanding Wayne Rooney scored United's goals in a two-minute second-half spell in the semi-final first leg at the Vetlins-Arena. Prior to that, though, Sir Alex Ferguson's men had wasted an astonishing 13 chances to score - 11 of them coming before the break. It left Schalke needing a three-goal triumph to progress to a meeting with either Real Madrid or Barcelona.

On this evidence, United have absolutely nothing to worry about. And for Rooney in particular, the prospect of the club's fifth European Cup final - on the ground where they won their first in 1968 - means personal redemption, having returned to the Gelsenkirchen arena where he was sent off on his last visit for England, to produce a wondrous performance that confirmed his renaissance beyond any doubt.

Ferguson Impressed by Neuer Show

Sir Alex Ferguson says Manuel Neuer's performance against Manchester United may be the finest he has come up against in his 25 years at the club. United were dominant at Schalke in Tuesday's semi-final first leg and produced a catalogue of clear-cut chances, but they were unable to beat Neuer during the first-half. On 50 minutes, Javier Hernandez fired the ball into the net having been ruled offside, and Ferguson believes that paved the way for Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney to score in the 67th and 69th minutes, but he was still left in awe of Neuer's performance.

"In my time at United, it is probably the finest display of goalkeeping against us," Ferguson said. "I am sure there have been other feats but tonight I saw a very good one. "There was a frustration towards the end of the first-half when Neuer made another save from Ryan. When that move broke down our players started walking back and I sensed a bit of frustration. We had to correct that at half-time. "But the thing that broke the camel's back was Javier Hernandez's goal being chalked off.

That took away the frustration of the players because they knew they could actually beat the guy even if it was not easy." Ferguson is believed to have looked into the possibility of signing Neuer as a successor to Edwin van der Sar, but it seems the Germany international has already agreed a move to Bayern Munich. Asked whether he would make any effort to sign Neuer in the wake of his performance, Ferguson said: "I think we know [he's going to Bayern]."

United Target Sneijder "fine" at Inter

Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder insists he is happy to stay at the San Siro despite being flattered to be linked with a "beautiful club" like Manchester United. Sneijder is reportedly high on Sir Alex Ferguson's wanted list and last week Inter chief Massimo Moratti insisted that "the interest from Manchester United in Sneijder is real". However, Netherlands international Sneijder, who has been earmarked as a replacement for Paul Scholes at Old Trafford, told Dutch radio station Studio Ajax that he was settled in Italy.

He said: "Do I want to go to United? It's a beautiful club. But I'm fine in Milan and not at the point to think about it." Meanwhile, Tottenham forward Rafael van der Vaart also took part in the broadcast and quipped that Sneijder should move to London rather than Manchester. "All the players from Man United and [Manchester] City are coming to the city of London in their own time," he joked. "I think that says enough about that city."

Latest League Stat

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE

Team		P	GD	Pts
1	Man Utd	34	+39	73
2	Chelsea	34	+37	67
3	Arsenal	34	+31	64
4	Man City	32	+20	56
5	Tottenham	33	+8	55
6	Liverpool	33	+9	49
7	Everton	34	+5	47
8	Bolton	33	+4	46
9	Newcastle United	34	+1	41
10	Sunderland	34	-10	41

Fixtures

DATE	TYPE	FIXTURES	VENUE	SCORE / KO	LIVE TV (UK)	ASSOCIATED LINKS
23 APRIL 2011		V UNITED V EVERTON	H	1 - 0		AUDI CAR PARKINGBETTINGSMS ALERT
26 APRIL 2011		V SCHALKE V UNITED	A	KO 19:45 GMT		BETTINGRADIOSMS ALERT
01 MAY 2011		V ARSENAL V UNITED	A	KO 14:05 BST		BETTINGRADIOSMS ALERT
04 MAY 2011		V UNITED V SCHALKE	H	KO 19:45 BST		BETTINGRADIOSMS ALERT

Transfer Rumours

ARRIVALS

Player Name	Current Club	Position	Fee	Source
Wilfried Zaha	Crystal Palace	Striker	Not stated	Talksport
Mark Gonzalez	CSKA Moscow	Midfielder	Not stated	Daily Mail
Diego Forlan	Atletico Madrid	Striker	£9million	Sunday People
Douglas Costa	Shakhtar Donetsk	Midfielder	£15million	Metro
Enzo Zidane	Real Madrid	Midfielder	Not stated	Sunday People
David De Gea	Atletico Madrid	Goalkeeper	£22million	Daily Telegraph
Adryan	Flamengo	Midfielder	£13million	Daily Mail
Hugo Lloris	Lyon	Goalkeeper	Not stated	Daily Mirror
Raul	Schalke	Striker	Not stated	Daily Mail
Rui Patricio	Sporting Lisbon	Goalkeeper	Not stated	Talksport
Wesley Sneijder	Inter Milan	Midfielder	Not stated	Metro

Papers: Reds want Wesley

Reds launch £25m Sneijder raid to replace Scholes

Sir Alex Ferguson will try to exploit growing turmoil at Inter Milan by making a concerted attempt to sign Wesley Sneijder at the end of the season. Though a huge admirer of Tottenham’s Luka Modric, the Manchester United manager has set his sights on Sneijder as his principal summer target and is prepared to meet a £25million asking price to prise him away from the San Siro. Recruiting a midfielder with drive and energy is Ferguson’s priority, and the feedback on Sneijder’s likely availability has encouraged the Old Trafford boss to seek clearance to proceed with a bid. Sportsmail understands an offer will be lodged with Inter, and their president Massimo Moratti is willing to sanction the Holland World Cup midfielder’s departure, despite him signing a long-term deal this season. Sneijder, 26, accepted improved terms until 2015 but has since seen Inter unravel under coach Leonardo, with the one-time Brazil midfielder coming under heavy fire for his tactical approach to their Champions League tie against Schalke and Serie A clash against city rivals AC Milan. Sneijder, who spent two seasons at Real Madrid before joining Inter in summer 2009, is ready for a fresh start and evidently relishes the challenge of replacing Paul Scholes as United’s new midfield general.

The Mail also claims United are monitoring Porto centre-back Rolando and striker Hulkwith the Portugese champions apparently ready to cash in on their main assets to ease financial worries.

Meanwhile, The Sun say Sir Alex hopes to have Darren Fletcher, who has been out since early March with a virus, back by the end of the month. The paper also ask three former players - Ian Wright, Lou Macari and Clive Walker - to give their verdict on the Premier League title run-in with the trio all backing the Reds to land the Championship crown.

Fergie: Parker Deserved FWA Gong

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has backed the decision of the Football Writers Association to make West Ham captain Scott Parker their player of the year for the 2010-11 season. Parker overcame Gareth Bale to be crowned winner of a prize that has been running since 1948. He is only the second Hammers recipient, following in the footsteps of legendary England skipper Bobby Moore, and comes in a season when his club could well be relegated. Ferguson has been dubious about the merits of such prizes ever since David Ginola won in Manchester United's 1999 treble-winning year, a decision he still feels was "an insult'' to the Old Trafford outfit at the time.

Centre-back Nemanja Vidic, winger Nani and striker Javier Hernandez have all enjoyed impressive campaigns for United, who remain in contention for a Premier League and Champions League double, and Ferguson could be forgiven for expressing similar sentiments now as he did 12 years ago. Instead, the 69-year-old claims Parker deserves the honour and believes it makes a refreshing change, with Parker the first winner from outside the established 'big clubs' since Alan Shearer, then of Blackburn, won it in 1994. "It is a good step forward to give it to a really good professional,'' said Ferguson.

"Scott Parker has certainly done a good job at West Ham. There is no doubt about that. "He is probably the player who has driven them on and motivated them to still have a chance of staying up, even though they have a mountain to climb now. "I remember when we won the treble, David Ginola got it. I have nothing against him at all but it was an insult to Manchester United that it was felt not one United player had a better season than he did. "It is nice to recognise someone outside the clubs who always get publicity like United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham.''

Van der Sar Still Learning at 40

Veteran goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar believes the perfect blend of youth and experience is what makes Manchester United so competitive year after year. Arsene Wenger's youth policy has come under fire more than ever this season and even captain Cesc Fabregas said in a recent interview that the club needs to add proven winners to its stable of talented youngsters to win trophies. Chelsea are the other team clinging to United's coat tails on the Premier League ladder andCarlo Ancelotti's experienced squad is often criticised for being too old when their form wavers. Van der Sar is convinced United have a happy middle of older heads who have been there and done that complemented by a crop of younger, hungrier talents who keep the experienced stars on their toes.

"On the one hand you have a young player who brings maybe enthusiasm and fresh legs, '' he said. "The on the other you have the experienced guys, who have the knowledge and the composure in important situations.'' Van der Sar, 40, will retire at the end of the season but he insisted he is still learning new things despite the fact he is nearing the end of a marathon career, much of which has been spent at the very top of the game. United face Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday and Van der Sar has no intention of taking his foot off the pedal even though the end in is sight. He said: "It is not just during the games, even in training you are always learning. That's very important because every time you step out onto the pitch you have to be on your toes and ready for all the things that can happen.''

Van der Sar admitted he was keeping an eye on the form of Chelsea and Arsenal, both six points behind United with five games to play. Chelsea visit Old Trafford on May 8 in what could be a title decider should the Blues capitalise on any other slip-ups by United in the run home. Van der Sar said: "It is important to know what other teams are doing and to see how they are in winning and losing positions.'' United boss Ferguson could ring the changes following the goalless draw at Newcastle in midweek. Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Valencia, Park Ji-sung might return to the starting line-up but Paul Scholes is sidelined through suspension.

Man Utd rated Most Valuable Club

Manchester United and David Beckham continue to lead the Forbes lists of the most valuable teams and highest-paid players. The American business magazine ranks United as being worth 1.86 billion US dollars (£1.12 billion), ahead of Real Madrid (£900 million) and Arsenal (£700 million). It is the seventh consecutive year that United have topped the Forbes list and Real Madrid and Arsenal, now under the control of majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, remain second and third.

Barcelona have dropped to fifth place, however, with German side Bayern Munich leapfrogging the Catalan team. AC Milan are the highest-placed Italian side on the list in sixth place, with Juventus in eighth and Inter Milan tenth. Two other Premier League sides are in the top ten, with Chelsea (£400 million) in seventh place and Liverpool (£332 million) in ninth. England midfielder Beckham continues to dominate the list of highest-paid players thanks to recent endorsement deals with Pepsi and Electronic Arts. His earnings last year were estimated at 40 million US dollars (£24 million), ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo (£23 million) and Lionel Messi (£19 million).

The full lists will be published in Forbes magazine's May 9 issue.

Platini Sorry for Ticket Prices

UEFA president Michel Platini has apologised for the price of tickets for this year's Champions League final, with some having almost doubled in price since the 2009 final. Platini also went on to say some tickets for the match at Wembley were being sold for ten times their face value on the black market and that UEFA may look to start a family ticket category for future finals. "It was a mistake, it was not good," Platini said, speaking in London. "But it is not easy to decide the price of the tickets in the Champions League final."

"Now on the black market these tickets are ten times the price that we decided. Perhaps in the future we have to have another category for families that is less expensive. But if you put those on the black market how much will they cost?" The two teams appearing in the final receive 25,000 tickets each, with a cheapest seat price of €95. UEFA are expected to make €16.7 million worth of income from the 2011 final compared to €11.5 million in 2010.

Fergie Ready to end German Hoodoo

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Manchester United are ready to end their run of Champions League exits at the hands of German clubs, as the Premier League leaders prepare to face Schalke in this season's semi-final first leg on Tuesday. Ferguson's side have suffered knockout defeats against Bayern Munich (twice), Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen in recent memory - with the latter two both ending United's Champions League dream at the semi-final stage, in 1997 and 2002 respectively. Most recently, Bayern knocked United out of last season's competition en route to the final, triumphing on away goals after winning 2-1 in Munich and losing 3-2 at Old Trafford.

United do, of course, also have fond memories of facing German opposition having beaten Bayern in dramatic circumstances in the 1999 final, while they also defeated Wolfsburg home and away last season. And Ferguson believes United are fully equipped to exorcise their German knockout demons when they line up against Ralf Ragnick's Schalke at Veltins Arena on Tuesday. "We've not had a great record against Bayern from the 99 season. We drew twice in the group stages and beat them in the final," Ferguson said. "We were very unlucky against Leverkusen, we should have seen them off and we were very unlucky against Dortmund but you can't always be unlucky and sometimes it'll change for you.

The German teams have always had that resilience and determination about them and that will be exactly the same on Tuesday night. "We're going into this game with far more experience than we have in previous years and our record away from home in the last few years has been terrific." Schalke's line will be led by three-time European Cup winner Raul, who recently revealed that United were interested in his services when he was leaving Real Madrid last summer. And Ferguson confirmed that he had considered signing the veteran Spain striker, who is the Champions Laague's all-time leading scorer in the Champions League with 71 goals. "We spoke to his agent or his agent spoke to us and we were a little bit tempted because you said to yourself 'He's not too old that he can't score a goal in the Premier League," Ferguson said.

"His time at Real had come to an end after a fantastic career but players like that always find something in terms of ambition, they don't just wither away, and at his age he had plenty to do, plenty to offer. "It would have been [a Henrik Larsson-type signing]. You get opportunities with experience like that like we did with Michael Owen and Michael Owen has been a fantastic professional here. They bring value to the team, bring experience and I think if I didn't have Michael Owen I might have been tempted. "Raul is Raul and you've got to be careful in the last third of the field because he's still got the intelligence and a fantastic goal record. It's 71 in the Champions League? Bloody hell, I hope it stays that way for the next three weeks."