United's defense was all over the place earlier. Evans and Rafael didn't come to the party at all, and so Ferdinand and Evra had to do the work of four men. Thank God for van der Sar, then. Similarly, the Milan defense went AWOL in the second half, when Rooney decided to go about his usual dismantling act these days. Milan would have fared much better with an in-form finisher, ala Rooney.

But the midfield display, coupled to Carrick's sending off, might just be a silver lining for United, because they can now opt for the 4-4-2 formation for the return leg. They can keep Fletcher and Scholes in the centre, with Valencia on the right and Park (yes people, Park, and I shall tell you why), and bring Berbatov into the mix to play upfront with Rooney. Even Brown should come in at right back for Rafael. Keeping Park on the left would provide a player willing to run around and hassle (I agree he doesn't do much more than that, but he can be dogged on his day, and Milan's old legs won't like that) Pirlo and Seedorf, who's sure to start this time in the return leg.

Berbatov would be able to provide a few tricks of his own, and his understandings with Rooney and Valencia are criminally-underrated. It would be nice to see how well Nesta and Silva negotiate two forwards, even when one gave them so much trouble (on current form, Rooney would've troubled even the legendary Milan back four of Cafu, Nesta, Stam, and Maldini). On the bench there should be Kuszcack, Rafael, Vidic (hopefully), Anderson (hopefully again), Obertan, Nani, and Diouf. I selected Diouf ahead of Owen because of his pace and strength, rather than finishing ability. Towards the last few minutes at Old Trafford, I'm expecting a frenetic finish, and his pace would be unsettling on a counter-attack against Milan. Let's just hope he takes the chance if it falls to him.

Let me know predictions based on this line-up, and what else can Sir Alex Ferguson be having up his sleeve for the return leg. God knows he's proved us mortals wrong so many times already this season.