Almunia maintains belief after Old Trafford heroics

Arsenal FC goalkeeper Manuel Almunia declared himself "half-happy" with his night's work after his team emerged from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford with their hopes dented but still intact.

Man of the match
Almunia produced a man-of-the-match performance to limit United to the single goal scored by John O'Shea during a first half in which Arsenal had no answer to their hosts' high-speed approach. The Spanish custodian made several key saves – the first inside the opening 120 seconds to claw out a Wayne Rooney header.

'Last chance'
"It was a busy game, especially the first half, but we are half-happy because we have half the tie still to play," Almunia said. "One-nil in this stadium is not bad because there are not many teams who go home from here with a clean sheet. It is difficult so we have to be more or less happy and look forward to the next game. We will try to put all the pressure on Manchester United and the fans will help us get to the final. It is our last chance to do something this year."

Touré praise
Such was the flurry of goal attempts faced by Almunia in the first half that he could be forgiven for getting the identity of United's scorer wrong after the game. "I thought the goal was [Michael] Carrick," he said in response to a post-match question about O'Shea's winning strike. It was about the only thing he did get wrong at Old Trafford and central defender Kolo Touré hailed his efforts, saying: "I think it is the best game Manuel has ever played."

'United are favourites'
But Touré added that the whole team would have to perform better in next Tuesday's home decider to have a chance of overturning their deficit. "It is difficult when you play a team like Man United with all the big players that they have," said Arsenal's semi-final winning goalscorer from 2006. "It was a really tough game tonight and we will go back with a 1-0 [deficit] so we need to play better. It is going to be like a final and we are going to give everything. Of course United are favourites, that is for sure – they could have scored two goals quite easily tonight so we need to defend better."

Belief
Arsenal can draw some encouragement from the fact they have not conceded a single goal in five games at home in this season's UEFA Champions League. They have beaten United in north London this term as well, though the 2-1 victory they achieved in the Premier League in November would not suffice next week. "It is going to be really tight, but of course we can score two goals and not concede – why not?" asked Touré. "We have beaten Man United already this season and that can give us some belief."