CL: United 1(1) - 0 (0) Lille - agg 2 -0
Last 8 : Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, AS Roma, Valencia
Times: Of all the French words uttered in anger over the course of the past fortnight, the only one that came to mind last night was encore. Certainly it had been a fitting swansong at Old Trafford for Henrik Larsson, but, in settling an acrimonious tie with a moment of rare class, the veteran forward left Manchester United’s supporters crying for more — and crying in vain.
Larsson’s ten weeks in Manchester have not been quite the glorious visitation that some might have you believe — this was only his third goal in 12 appearances — but his contribution has been vital in keeping United on track during the most difficult period of their season. It was epitomised last night with the 72nd-minute goal that ended Lille’s resistance and their misplaced sense of injustice, but, while more straightforward individuals might be coaxed into prolonging their curtain call, Larsson was adamant as, shivering under the Stretford End an hour after the final whistle, he said: “I’m going home on Sunday and that’s it.”
Credit to him, then. Credit to a rare example of a footballer whose sense of loyalty, to both Helsingborg, his Swedish club, and to his family, outweighs even his sense of ambition. It is the 35-year-old’s attitude, as much as his talent, that has so endeared him to Sir Alex Ferguson, but now, with Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injured and Wayne Rooney remaining a long way from his best, it is Larsson’s famed predatory instinct that promises to be the greater loss to United with the season approaching its tipping points.
It was Larsson’s goal, a fine header from Cristiano Ronaldo’s cross, that finally saw off a Lille team whose exit from the competition will not be mourned. The French club invited only ridicule with their outraged reaction to Ryan Giggs’s perfectly legitimate winning goal in the first leg and, if Claude Puel’s youngsters avoided embarrassment last night with a typically robust display, the only moments of class over the course of an ugly tie came from United — and specifically from Giggs and Larsson, who, with Rooney continuing to flounder, have offered timely reminders that there is no substitute for experience in this competition.
This time, Giggs spent the evening on the bench, a move that, given how Lille’s players had accused him of cheating in the first leg, had some wondering whether this was an unlikely concession to diplomacy on Ferguson’s part. Not so, according to the United manager, who later explained that he simply preferred the more muscular John O’Shea against such physical opponents.
There was an obvious loss of poise, with the Ireland player one of several in the United team who looked heavy-legged, but, in the context of the result, O’Shea could certainly claim to have done everything asked of him.
Without Giggs, laughably miscast by Lille as the villain of the piece, there was perhaps a little less of the rancour that had been evident in the build-up, but it still required all the experience of the referee, Luis Medina Cantalejo, to keep emotions in check during the first half. Six players were booked in all — most notably Ronaldo for what was perceived as a dive when he felt he should have had a penalty — but only once did the Spanish official threaten to lose control, when he mistakenly showed an incandescent Kader Keita the yellow card in the 36th minute before realising his error and booking Matthieu Chalmé instead for a foul on Ronaldo.
That was about as compelling as the action got in a strange first half, in which United’s best effort, a volley by Rooney from Paul Scholes’s clever cross, was blocked by Chalmé. Lille, at the other end, offered relatively little, save for the willing athleticism of Peter Odemwingie, but their only real opportunities came from the dead-ball delivery of Ludovic Obraniak. One such free kick provided Jean Makoun with a free header, which he directed straight at Edwin van der Sar. Two minutes into the second half, another free kick by Obraniak reached Odemwingie, who got to the ball before Van der Sar and sent a header against the post as the Stretford End took a collective gasp.
But with 18 minutes remaining, United came to life, fittingly in a move that was started and finished by Larsson. The forward’s layoff sent the ball to Scholes, who released Ronaldo. For once Ronaldo forgot the fancy footwork and reverted to old-fashioned wing play, heading straight to the byline and crossing on to the head of Larsson, who, unmarked, steered the ball past Tony Sylva.
Within two minutes, Larsson had taken his leave, replaced by Alan Smith, for whom it was the first appearance since an outing away to Southend United in the Carling Cup on November 7 forced a serious reappraisal of his recovery from the broken leg and dislocated ankle he suffered last February. If anything might force a rethink on Larsson’s or United’s part, it is the idea of a half-fit Smith as the only available partner for a struggling Rooney over the weeks ahead, but the Sweden forward, evidently, is not a man for turning.
And so United will struggle on without him. He will be remembered in these parts not as a saviour but as a man who made a difference during a difficult time. Come May, though, that small difference could mean a lot.
TEAM
Van der Sar; Neville (c), Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre; Ronaldo (Richardson, 82), Carrick, Scholes, O’Shea, Rooney (Park, 82); Larsson (Smith, 75)
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Heinze, Brown, Giggs.
POST SCRIPT
Sir Alex: “Apart from the two free kicks we looked comfortable tonight but in general all teams can deliver set pieces which can cause problems different from defending moves in open play. It was a fantastic cross from Ronaldo. You were hoping he would score on his last game here. He’s been an absolute pleasure to work and train with but unfortunately he has to go back.”
On The Quarter Final
“There is a muchness about all the teams involved. Last season there was a spell when no-one wanted to get Barcelona. I don’t think anyone is saying that this season. The key thing is we are still in the competition.
“We have had a couple of bad years in terms of qualifying for the quarter-finals. But the quarter-finals are not our aim. We want to go as far as we possibly can. There is not a lot between any of the sides left in, so I feel we have a chance against anyone.”
Claude Puel: “We played a good solid match but just lacked that spark when it mattered; basically we couldn’t score. In short they won both matches and deserved to win. They handled the second game well and merited winning. We played as equals with them at times during the games and felt we could have got a draw tonight but over the two legs they deserved to win.”
