CLIMBING mountains of their own making has been a feature of Manchester United’s success in European competition, but another improbable ascent last night, led by the irrepressible Ruud van Nistelrooy, could not ease Sir Alex Ferguson’s concern at an unconvincing start to their Champions League campaign.
United were trailing 2-0 at the interval after a calamitous first half, but although two goals from Van Nistelrooy — the first of which enabled him to break Denis Law’s club record of 28 goals in European competition — denied Lyons a famous victory, they could not stop Ferguson from delivering a withering assessment of the team’s performance. “I don’t think we can ignore what happened in the first half tonight,” the manager said. “If I did that, I wouldn’t be doing my job properly. There was a terrible disappointment at half-time with some elements of the game and we had to change.
“In fairness to them, they did respond. The defenders started to win the ball much earlier and of course the goals made a big difference, but over the whole game we had maybe three performers who reached their standard.”
Ferguson praised Gabriel Heinze and Cristiano Ronaldo before singling out Van Nistelrooy, for whom this was only the second appearance of a season that had started belatedly because of a hernia problem. “We’ve always known what a fantastic goalscorer Ruud is,” Ferguson said, “and I’ve always said he’ll keep breaking records, as he did tonight. But the truly remarkable feat was playing almost a full game and not only scoring two goals, but withstanding a huge number of challenges, some of them very unfair, having not played any real football since the European Championship in the summer.”
Van Nistelrooy’s goals illustrated that United have one of the most prolific strikers in the Champions League, while the second-half comeback brought confirmation, if any were needed, that they are also blessed with an indomitable spirit. Unfortunately, the tie also exposed a defence that has been their Achilles’ heel in the Champions League in recent years, and which may take more than the imminent return of Rio Ferdinand to reinforce.
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Ferguson had insisted at the pre-match press conference that there was no need to reconsider his long-held view that the only way to win the Champions League is by playing attacking football. If his somewhat surprising decision to omit Alan Smith from the starting line-up hinted at a more conservative approach, United are still a team that neglects defensive principles.
The return of Ferdinand after an eight-month ban will bring greater assurance and security, but it might take more than that to restore the confidence of Tim Howard, the goalkeeper, who was again badly at fault for Lyons’s breakthrough ten minutes before half-time. Howard could claim to have been unsighted as Juninho Pernambucano’s free kick crept around the wall and through a crowded penalty area, but he should not have fumbled the ball into the path of Cris, the Brazilian defender, who gleefully took the opportunity to score from six yards.
That goal did not flatter Lyons, a strong, physical side, who also showed great finesse going forward. Sylvain Wiltord, whom they signed on a free transfer three weeks ago after his release by Arsenal, was a constant menace, but so were Sidney Govou and Florent Malouda, lively and elusive figures on the flanks, and Pierre-Alain Frau, whose mobility was matched by his intelligence.
Having fallen behind, United needed to reach the sanctuary of the dressing-room without suffering a further setback, but their problems deepened in the final minute of the first half when, after the breakdown of a United attack, Lyons broke with devastating effect from one penalty area to the other. Wiltord ran at the defence, twisting and turning before delivering a perfectly timed pass that Frau bent past Howard with the outside of his right foot to give Lyons an apparently unassailable lead.
A drastic improvement was needed and it came thanks to Van Nistelrooy. The forward had barely had a touch of the ball in the opening period, so dominant were the opposition, but he soon showed that his predatory sharpness has not been blunted by two months spent in the treatment room, leaping to head the ball past Grégory Coupet from a cross by Ronaldo, who had excelled to keep the ball in play on the left.
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Five minutes later, the same combination worked again, Van Nistelrooy reacting quickly to poke the ball past Coupet after a shot by Ronaldo was deflected into his path.
Either side could have won in the final moments, Juninho Pernambucano going closest in stoppage time with a 25-yard shot that struck the outside of the post, leaving Ferguson to express his relief at gaining a valuable point, even if it did merely paper over the cracks.
LYONS (4-4-1-1): G Coupet — A Réveillère, Cris, Caçapa, E Abidal — S Govou (sub: H Ben Arfa, 75min), M Essien, Juninho Pernambucano, F Malouda — S Wiltord (sub: J Clément, 88) — P-A Frau (sub: Nilmar, 65). Substitutes not used: L Diatta, B Bergougnoux, J Berthod, N Puydebois. Booked: Cris.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-1-1): T Howard — J O’Shea (sub: P Neville, 83), W Brown, M Silvestre, G Heinze — C Ronaldo, R Keane, E Djemba-Djemba, R Giggs — P Scholes — R van Nistelrooy (sub: A Smith, 79). Substitutes not used: R Carroll, D Bellion, Kléberson, K Richardson, D Fletcher. Booked: Heinze.
Referee: W Stark (Germany).
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GROUP D