The April 10, 2007, massacre of The Eternal City will remain among Manchester United fans as one of the team's greatest performances for a very long time. While it may not possess the lasting influence, like the Hungarian demolition of the English at Wembley, it will go down in club history as one of the most defining matches.

First ,and most important, we won and we qualify to the next round. Second, our team is playing very, very well. At this moment, I think we deserve to be the favourites for the European title. United have style and quality, like Argentina in Germany last summer. Just as the South American side hammered Serbia 6–0, we destroyed Roma 7-1. Our smooth passing and tremendous finishing was on a par with the Argentinians.

The momentum built up from this kind of scoreline will also prove to be crucial for future matches. Two consecutive away defeats more or less made the fans, and even the team, start to worry. A third defeat, and exit from the Champions League, might have been the start of a disastrous decline. Now, with the sky all clear, we have all the fuel and energy not only to beat AC Milan or stop the advancing Chelsea; we can go all the way for another Treble.

At Old Trafford we saw Cristiano Ronaldo, a great player in the build-up, scoring his first ever goal in Europe. It was a great relief for both the fans and the No.7 himself to see the ball put into the net - twice. We also saw Darren Fletcher give us his best performance in recent years. His rock-like display in front of the defensive line almost single-handedly cut off the threat from Roma.

Finally, I have a feeling this could have been a defining match, not only for Manchester United, but also for Michael Carrick. To be frank, I am not a Carrick fan.  But his performances have  been the foundation of our success this term. His passing, his teamwork, his vision are all comparable with Juan Roman Riquelme. His weakest skill has been his shooting ability. But in the match against Roma, we witnessed an altogether different Michael Carrick.

The clinical finishes he produced for his two goals elevated him to the level of Roy Keane. He may have to thank the Roman goalkeeper for his poor positioning when scoring the first and most important goal. But his second goal was a beauty. It simply curved into the dead angle from the outer left of the box. It would have taken two goalkeepers to save that kind of shot.

Carrick's soft touches and passing reminded me of a South American. Having progressed through the West Ham academy, and having learned technically with a spell at Spurs, Carrick has become a great playmaker. Liverpool fans claim that Steven Gerrard should be given the controlling role in midfield in the England team, but  I think Carrick would be a better choice. Gerrard may make some sharper and entertaining long passes, but Carrick's vision, anticipation and ability to dictate the pace of the game is, in my opinion, unrivalled in the Premiership.

Let’s hope we can see more goals from Carrick. The match against Roma and the goals he score will boost his confidence and I can see the start of a great career for the Englishman.

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