Cristiano Ronaldo continued his torrid form Tuesday, scoring Manchester United's opener in a 2-0 first-leg, quarterfinal win over host Roma in the Eternal City. Without the services of the injured Francesco Totti, Roma looked rather pedestrian. Ronaldo has been anything but that lately; he followed up his one-man demolition of Aston Villa on Saturday by rising high above the Roma defense to head one in just before halftime. Wayne Rooney got a classic "fox in the box" goal in the second half to give the Red Devils a 2-nil lead heading back to Old Trafford.
In a way, Man United erased the bitter taste from last season's capitulation to AC Milan at the San Siro in the second leg of the semifinals. While this performance was a good one, it does not approach the heights of the Roy Keane-led side that overcame a 2-nil deficit to get past Juventus 3-2 in the second leg of the semi in Turin in 1999. That said, it would be hard to bet against United at least making an appearance in the Champions League final for the first time since that treble-winning year.
