CL: United 3 - 0 FC Copenhagen
PREVIEW
A place in the next round of the Champions League is there for the taking tonight when United line up against FC Copenhagen.
United made heavy weather of overcoming Celtic and looked in danger of embarrassment in Lisbon until Saha’s wondrous shot transformed dross into gold. Now Sir Alex’s men stand on the threshold of qualification and the eradication of last year’s Euro disaster, just as the manager predicted.
Buoyed by good performances against Newcastle and Wigan, United will enter the match full of confidence and may be able to include the experience of Gary Neville and the match winning potential of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Yet after Saturday’s second half destruction of Wigan, Sir Alex may well be tempted to stick with the team that finished the game. The return of Giggs enables United to move away from stringing three relatively pedestrian central midfielders across the middle and adds variety and unpredictability to the team’s forward movement.
More importantly, Giggs’ presence could unlock the goal threat of Wayne Rooney.
Sir Alex hopes the encouraging signs from his young striker last Saturday will be crowned tonight with a goal, Rooney’s first in Europe for two years.
“Strikers like to get goals,” Ferguson said. “They want to be scoring all the time. Wayne is no different and, when they are not scoring, they have their little concerns.
“When he hit the bar on Saturday, it was just the kind of luck he has been having. But the way he went on to perform in the second half showed it didn’t faze him.”
The Danes come to Old Trafford as group whipping boys an should live up to their reputation with United proving too strong on home turf.
MATCH REPORT…
United 3 - 0 FC Copenhagen
Scoles (38) O’Shea (46) Richardson (82)
A routine three goal victory over poor Danish visitors has put United within reach of the knockout stages of the Champions League.
This was a pipe and slippers night for United’s defenders whose own diligence combined with the Danish champion’s ineptitude, produced just two threats to Edwin Van Der Sar’s serenity in goal.
At the other end, United should have scored six. Saha was guilty of missing two sitters and other gilt-edged chances went begging in a poor advert for the quality of the Champions League. On other nights against better opposition, United will have to be more ruthless in front of goal.
Sir Alex was forced into changes before the game started. Giggs and Ferdinand were ruled out in the warm up, giving starts to Fletcher on the right flank and Wes Brown who returned to partner Vidic.
Rooney was given the captaincy armband by Sir Alex and was the inspiration behind United’s best attacking thrusts. “He was fantastic,” the manager said. “His form is back, as we expected.” Before many of the crowd had found their seats, the Scouse maestro found his team mate Saha with a finely judged pass, only to see the Frenchman’s effort blocked by the keeper Christiansen.
United soon began to find their range of pass and had the measure of their opponents, who began brightly but quickly recognised the gulf in class. If United were to be thwarted, goalkeeper Christiansen would have to play the match of his career. The Dane looked the part early on making some brave interventions to keep out Scholes, Saha and Carrick. But he could do little about the neat interchange between Evra and Saha which left Scholes with just enough space to squeeze a fierce shot into the left corner of the Danish net.
United’s nerves settled after the goal. Sir Alex was strolling to the dug-out after half time when Ronaldo fired in a corner which O’Shea touched in with his standing leg. It was that kind of game. Copenhagen were playing for pride thereafter and could have done without the goalkeeper’s howler on 82 minutes, when Christiansen allowed a speculative 25 yard shot by substitute Richardson to spin off his body and into the goal.
By then, United were in complete command and were able to save some of their energies and players for the epic to come against Liverpool this weekend. The Champions League was not supposed to support mercy-killings of this kind. United will not mind though, especially after last year’s disappointments.
TEAM
United: Van Der Sar; Evra; Vidic; Brown; O’Shea; Fletcher
Carrick (Solskjaer 59); Scholes (Richardson 76) ; Rooney ; Saha (Smith 59)
Subs: Kuszczak; Giggs
POST SCRIPT
Sir Alex: “We had to make sure the pace of the game was quick and it think it was a good performance and a good result. I said at half-time we had to kill the game off. We should have done it in the first half with the opportunities we had.”
Stale Solbakken : “We lost to the better team but it gave us great hope for the future.We played really well in the first half. I was really pleased at how we created chances. It is only our third game in the Champions League and we are learning every game. Many of our players showed that they can play at this level.”
