Gamba Lose Out in 8-Goal Thriller

An entertaining, and as Sir Bobby Charlton said "friendly", game In Yokohama, Manchester United cam out the 5-3 winners. Although Gamba gave United a good game, forcing them to play crisp, sharp passes, their opponents superior quality and power proved too much them to really threaten an upset. However, they still managed to put three goals past Edwin Van der Sar.

Peter Pakeman's view:
What a terrific performance going forward by Gamba! They were almost the equals of United in everything except for power and Christiano Ronaldo. Swap Rooney and Lucas and this might have been an even more interesting game!!:-)

Not only did Gamba score three, Van der Sar had to make another three excellent saves. This year Gamba were 8th in J1. Did they do any worse than the 8th team in the Premiership usually does against MU? OK, on the pattern of the goals MU didn't have to go through all the gears, but an exciting performance nonetheless by Gamba.

I think Gamba did the J-League proud tonight. It confirms the impression that we watch damn good football in J1. The only thing is the level of physical presence and power is a class below that of the top-league European teams. Where is the Japanese Rooney?

A hugely entertaining evening!

Other Views & Related Articles:
Daily Gomiuri "Man Utd too strong for Gamba"
SkySports "United secure final date"
CNN World Sport "Gamba Osaka - Kings of Asia"