Almunia - Tie not over

Manuel Almunia maintains Arsenal are still very much in their Champions League semi-final against Manchester United after the goalkeeper’s heroics helped his side leave Old Trafford trailing by just one goal.

John O’Shea’s close-range strike in the 17th minute was all the defending champions had to show for their efforts on a night when Almunia was in inspired form.

The Arsenal goalkeeper had set the tone for the night with a fine reaction save to deny Wayne Rooney in the opening moments, before also denying Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

When Almunia was beaten by Ronaldo’s blistering 25-yard strike midway through the second half, the ball struck the crossbar.

Almunia said: “1-0 in this stadium is not that bad a result because there are not that many teams who play here and go away with a clean sheet.

“We expected them to start with a high tempo, but in the second half we showed that if Arsenal can keep the ball, then we can beat them.

“We have to be more or less happy and look forward to the second leg at the Emirates."