Real Madrid vs Man Utd: 5 Ways To Stop Mourinho’s Men

4. Full-Backs To The Wall

This season, Rafael Da Silva has truly come of age in the right-back slot for United, displaying bags of energy, ferocity, and intelligence, complimented splendidly by textbook Brazilian guile. Patrice Evra, his compatriot on the left side of defence, has enjoyed a productive term with regards to goals, his attacking prowess a constant threat, though it is clear his best days are behind him and he can be exploited in his own half by sprightly opponents. The two will have their work cut out against Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, and Angel di Maria, who all carry a foreboding threat out wide, with each player able to switch positions during a game, ensuring their markers will have to keep their wits about them at all times. In previous years, Rafael€™s temperament was questioned, his youthful antagonism always threatening to jeopardise his team€™s chances in a game, and the Brazilian€™s petulance proved very costly indeed in 2010€™s quarter-final against Bayern Munich. However, maturity and the separation from his twin, Fabio, has been immensely productive, and the petulance of old seems to have been replaced by a sensible, though always competitive, approach. With CR7 often at his most lethal cutting in from his left hand side, it surely Rafael who Ferguson will be investing in hopes in if United are to come out unscathed. Evra, a seasoned professional, will know exactly the kind of task that lays ahead for him, and it is imperative that he shows the fighting spirit that made his manager select him as the natural stand-in captain for Nemanja Vidic.