Man. United runs rampant; panic down at the bottom

Blisteringly talented Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 36 goals in all competitions for Manchester United this season. AP

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Manchester United is running rampant. Last Saturday, the Red Devils demolished eighth-place Aston Villa 4-0 at Old Trafford and remain five points clear of Chelsea in the English Premier League race. The standard of United's soccer was so sublime, the score line actually flattered the losers.

Cristiano Ronaldo is in such fantastic form that he's surely favorite for the Ballon d'Or, and is there a better attacking combination in the world right now than Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney? The "two Rs" provided three of the goals against Villa and were again each on the score sheet on Wednesday at Roma, where United won 2-0 in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Ronaldo's bullet header from distance was pure perfection, and thanks to copious amounts of gel, so was his hair afterward. But was it better than his audacious flicked goal against Villa? The Portuguese winger is single-handedly providing a smorgasbord of 2007-08 season highlights.

United is moving closer to the EPL title and, despite a difficult run, remains the clear favorite. Banana skins do exist though -- hosting Arsenal and traveling to Chelsea are obvious ones, and a trip to Blackburn is always difficult, as may be the season-closing visit to a Wigan side that may still be fighting relegation. United can afford to drop points though, especially as neither Chelsea nor Arsenal look likely to take 18 from 18.

With both United and Barcelona winning away in their Champions League quarterfinal first-leg matches, the clash of the titans moves closer. Like a Galapagos turtle, Team Limey always likes sticking its neck out, and forecasts that it will be United that progresses to the final at the expense of the Catalans, who last weekend let a 2-0 lead at Real Betis slip.

Barça fell to third in La Liga behind Real Madrid and Villarreal following the 3-2 defeat. The Blaugrana are of course strong, but do they have the momentum to beat such a confident United side?

In the all-English tie, Liverpool responded promptly to Emmanuel Adebayor's 23rd-minute opening goal with a Dirk Kuyt equalizer three minutes later. The Dutchman was also the main talking point in the second half, as he hauled down Alexander Hleb in the penalty area yards from referee and compatriot Pieter Vink. Talk that the referee -- who hails from the same part of Holland as Kuyt -- did the Liverpool man a favor in waving away Arsenal's penalty claims is double Dutch to us.

More annoying to an already infuriated Arsène Wenger is the revelation that Vink is known as "Blind Bird" in his homeland. Coincidentally, a desperate Team Limey encountered a female with a similar nickname the last time it ventured into its favorite West End night spot.

With the game tied 1-1 at halftime, and an all-important away goal to take into the second leg, Rafa Benítez sent his team out for the second half with defense firmly in mind. The Reds rarely ventured into Arsenal's half, frustrating the Gunners for 45 minutes.

Liverpool sat everyone behind the ball, and even managed to recruit Arsenal substitute Nicklas Bendtner into its defensive line. The Danish youngster somehow managed to clear Cesc Fàbregas' goal-bound effort off the line in comedy fashion.

But Wenger didn't see the funny side of the "blatant" penalty, Bendtner's goal-line Riverdance routine or the fact Liverpool goes into the second leg as the favorite. But of how much value is Liverpool's away goal?

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