Update: AC Milan fall to Beckham's former club...

In a torrid back-and-forth match in Milan's San Siro yesterday, AC Milan were unable to hold onto an early lead and dropped the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 matchup to Manchester United by a score of 3-2.

A frustrating night for Beckham.  

But his coif was, as always, impeccable.

For his part, David Beckham started the match, but was substituted about midway through the second half with his team trailing 3-1.  But while he did not score, Beckham was partly responsible for the opening goal as his deflected cross found teammate Ronaldinho, who then slotted the ball home.  Other than that, Becks was pretty much just "out there" on the field.

In fact, he was largely overshadowed by Manchester United's newest icon - and arguably the best player on the planet right now - fellow Englishman Wayne Rooney.  The twenty four year-old Rooney scored twice during a period of eight minutes in the second half to power Manchester United to victory.

Rooney tormented Milan's defense all evening.

Beckham's former manager, Sir Alex Ferguson (if only coaches in the U.S. could be knighted...who would be first?), heaped subtle praise on Rooney in the video below.  Beckham also chimes in on his team's disappointing loss.

 

It should be interesting to see if Beckham will start when the two teams play again in Manchester in just a few weeks.  I'll keep you updated.