By Myles Palmer
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Bayer Leverkusen 1 Man Utd 1
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Keane 28 Neuville 44
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United lost 2-2 at Old Trafford – that’s where they blew it.
In any Champions League game 2-2 at home is a defeat.
That flop left them needing a great performance AND a bit of luck.
On the night, Veron, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy and Scholes had poor games while Ze Roberto, Basturk, Schneider and Ballack had good games.
LUCIO, the big Brazilian centreback, was heroic : fast, skilful, enterprising, brave as a lion, coming back for more after several bad knocks and treatment off the field
Keane, Blanc, Butt and Silvestre did well, but Leverkusen’s pass-and-move was much more fluent than United’s.
United never got going. They were outplayed and under the cosh for most of the game, as they had been in the first leg.
So, in the circumstances, United did well to take the lead. But they just didn’t have the resources to score a second goal.
In fact, Fergie’s men did well to draw the game – and almost snatch it at the death.
Obviously, they missed Beckham, whose pinpoint early crosses and passes have flattered van Nistelrooy in many games and cranked up United’s momentum, allowing, for instance, Sylvestre to get up for overlaps and good balls into the box.
THE VERDICT on Fergie’s season is that he signed a £28 million superstar he didn’t need.
Veron wrecked their midfield balance, killed the confidence of Scholes,disrupted the team’s method.
United needed Ruud VN but they certainly didn’t need Juan Sebastian V.
Fergie should hire a coach who can give his team shape, method, new ideas.
Ruud is burned out, a spent force right now. The season has taken a huge toll on him and he is a better player than he has looked in his last five games.
After a rest,Van Nistelrooy will be good again.
Barthez looks likely to go, and Veron will have a fine World Cup which will put him in the shop window.
Trouble is,big clubs are short of dosh.
The transfer merry-go-round has run out of steam and everybody’s waiting to see who Real Madrid buy.
That will trigger a domino effect, with clubs who don’t get Shevchenko or Crespo or Vieira going out and signing other players.
I love the end of the season.
It comes down, as usual, to three or four matches and we get all the answers, neatly wrapped up.
If Arsenal do the Double then Dennis Bergkamp will have done a double Double, like Cantona.
He has graced the English game. He deserves that. It has been Dennis’s dream to win the FA Cup and Freddie can help him achieve that dream.
What a fantastic run Freddie made for that first goal at Bolton!
But Arsenal would not have won that game without Dennis. They could have played for the next week without scoring if he had not created those two goals
I can’t wait for Chelsea.
And I can’t wait for Old Trafford.
Hampden Park,Wed.May 15th : Real Madrid v Bayer Leverkusen.
Unless Barca amaze us all at the Bernebeu tonight.
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LEVERKUSEN(4-1-4-1): Butt; Zivkovic, Nowotny (Sebescen, 9), Lucio, Placente; Ramelow; Schneider, Bastürk (Vranjes, 78), Ballack, Ze Roberto; Neuville (Berbatov, 84).
Subs not used: Juric (gk), Babic, Kirsten, Kleine.
MAN UNITED (4-4-1-1): Barthez; Brown (Forlan, 81), Blanc, Johnsen, (Irwin, 60),Silvestre; Scholes, Keane, Butt (Solskjaer, 60), Giggs; Veron; Van Nistelrooy.
Subs not used: Carroll (gk), P Neville, Fortune, O’Shea.
Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark).
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30th April 2002