United had a 2-1 lead going into their Champions League second-leg qualifying match against Dinamo Bucharest and could even afford to lose the match 1-0. There was so much at stake, though, and a premature exit was unthinkable, really. The club desperately needs to get involved in the Champions League because of the prestige factor alone.
So it was a bit of a shock when the live telecast began (3 minutes after kick-off, I might add) and I realised Ferguson had decided to field Manchester United ver. League Cup for the match. Smith led the attack and Howard started in goal but there were surprises elsewhere.
How’s this for a defensive line-up: O’Shea, Silvestre, Gary Neville and Jonathan Spector.
How’s this for a midfield unit: Fletcher, Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, Ronaldo and Eagles.
That struck me as being much too experimental for a must-win tie and I was nervous the Romanians might create a shock of their own by eliminating United.
But I needn’t have worried. The Romanians seemed resigned to losing and United comfortably won the match 3-0 (reports: BBC, Soccernet, Guardian, ManUtd.com).
These United players may not have played together competitively much but you wouldn’t have known it from the way they were putting together moves. One such move in the 18th minute started with Ronaldo on the left flank passing to Eagles who then laid it on to Gary Neville on the right flank to cross to Ronaldo who had made a run into the box. It didn’t result in a goal but it was exhilarating to see.
Smith got United’s first two goals less than five minutes into the second-half. The first came about when Kleberson’s free-kick was diverted into the path of Smith who tapped it in from two yards out. The linesman ruled it offside but he was rightfully overruled by the referee. Smith may have been in an offside position but he got the ball from a Bucharest player.
Smith’s second came courtesy of a Gary Neville cross and I’m slightly disconcerted by the fact United’s most effective crosses are coming from the rightback rather the wingers.
Bellion added the third six minutes after coming on as a substitute for Ronaldo. I’m still not convinced Bellion was a wise signing — he’s speedy but his passing and positional sense are suspect — but the Frenchman has two goals in two matches now.
And in other developments, United evidently are going to spend the 20 or so million pounds it will take to pry Rooney from Moyes’s tight-fisted grip. The transfer deadline is next Tuesday and it appears United are going to get into a frenzied bidding war with Newcastle. The media seems to think the Red Devils are the odds-on favourite to land England’s hottest talent but there’s many a slip betwixt the lip and cup as the Kenyon-botched Ronaldinho transfer will have shown.
