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Trezeguet's strike puts dream beyond reach of depleted United
By Henry Winter | |
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Manchester Utd (0) 1 Monaco (1) 1 (Agg: 1-1) THE dream is on hold for another season. The thirty years of hurt continues. Manchester United's desire to regain the European Cup, which they held in 1968, foundered last night on French resilience, which compounded their own selection problems. United worked desperately hard but, missing Gary Pallister's commanding defensive presence, Ryan Giggs's attacking flair and the dominance of goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, the champions of England bowed out of the European Cup a stage earlier than last year. Monaco progressed through on the away goal, brilliantly scored by David Trezeguet, who may lead the French line in the World Cup. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's second-half reply precipitated a thrilling finish but Monaco proved too disciplined, too determined. United were not the only ones counting the cost of this night of deep disapointment. Gary Neville and Paul Scholes both failed to finish the match and are now doubtful for England's friendly international in Switzerland next week. This was always going to be a test of character, the pressure increased when Giggs suffered a reaction to his hamstring after Tuesday's workouts. In attempting to find balance and potency in midfield, Ferguson drafted in Solskjaer on the left, pushed Scholes out to the right and set David Beckham and Nicky Butt to work in the middle. Monaco, brimming with confidence, took one look and began cutting through with pass after pass, the accuracy of each delivery leaving United's midfielders chasing shadows. Lacking a cutting edge at home, Monaco looked so much more dangerous here with the hard-working target figure of Trezeguet to aim at. Scarcely five minutes had elapsed when Trezeguet scored, Monaco's goal owing much to United mistakes. A tackle from Ronny Johnsen saw the ball spin away in front of the Norwegian. With Johnsen caught out of position and Gary Neville scrambling to cover, Ali Benarbia swiftly swept the ball through to Trezeguet, quickly capitalising on the chaos in United's defence. The French international's response was of the highest order, a rising drive arrowing past goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw. Not even Schmeichel would have saved this bolt from the white and blue, which was clocked doing 96mph on ITV's speed camera Monaco's movement was proving too clever, too elusive for United's young team. John Collins's passing, the ball pinging off his left foot, continually impressed, as did the Scot's enthusiasm for tracking Beckham in particular. Alongside Collins was Djibril Diawara, a Dakar-born midfielder deployed to break up the supply lines. This pair provided a central bulwark United kept crashing into. Even when Ferguson's side did find a way through, and their best hope came down the flanks, Monaco's sweeper-strengthened defence proved too complicated to untangle. As at Stade Louis II, Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole were closely marked by Martin Djetou and Muhamed Kon- jic. United's strikers attempted to escape these dogged defenders but found space and hope hard to come by as the game unfolded. Chances did materialise. Beckham curled in a fine cross which Solskjaer just failed to make contact with. Beckham shot over and then saw a free-kick bend just wide of Fabien Barthez's right-hand upright. United's most promising moment came when Sheringham, set up by Scholes, flicked play on. The ball's passage was stopped by Djetou's hand, causing United and their supporters to scream for a penalty. Helmut Krug, the German referee, ignored their pleas. Nothing seemed to be going United's way. Just after the half-hour, Gary Neville limped off, having damaged a rib. Also doubtful for England's trip to Switzerland is Scholes, who departed at half-time having aggravated his knee problem. Monaco provided further problems. Strong defensively, commanding in midfield, Jean Tigana's well-organised side counter-attacked in style. Victor Ikpeba should have scored, directing his header too close to van der Gouw, a real waste of Benarbia's magnificent angled cross. United, to their credit, kept trying, kept striving for parity. The crowd, who seemingly save their passion for these European nights, willed their team forward. Hope gradually grew. Solskjaer missed poorly from Butt's cross as the half closed but a United goal was not far away. Eight minutes after the break, United had the goal their persistence, if not invention, deserved. A stirring run from Butt was crudely stopped by Franck Dumas. A penalty appeared inevitable but Krug let the move develop. From the wreckage of Dumas's foul, the ball was played back in by Beckham and there as Solskjaer finishing brilliantly at the far post. United kept attacking, aware that Trezeguet's away goal still hung over them. Such was their commitment to forward surges that gaps appeared at the back and van der Gouw showed great athleticism in tipping over Collins's chip. Still United charged into Monaco. After 72 minutes Phil Neville played the ball back to Beckham, whose cross fell for Solskjaer. Three Monaco players, defending desperately, threw themselves in the way to block and still the danger persisted. Thierry Henry could have finished United off 10 minutes from time but van der Gouw diverted the danger. _________________________________________________________________ Man Utd (0) 1 AS Monaco (1) 1 Solskjaer 53; Trezeguet 6. Man Utd: Van Der Gouw, G. Neville (Berg 32), Irwin, Johnsen, Beckham, Butt, Cole, Sheringham, P. Neville, Scholes (Clegg 46), Solskjaer. Subs Not Used: Pilkington, May, McClair, Thornley, Curtis. Booked: Butt, Solskjaer. AS Monaco: Barthez, Djetou, Dumas, Diawara, Collins, Benarbia (Carnot 66), Trezeguet, Leonard, Sagnol, Konjic (Da Costa 74), Ikpeba Nosa (Henry 60). Subs Not Used: Porato, Pignol, Spehar, Cristanval. Booked: Collins, Da Costa. Agg (1-1) Att: 53,683 Ref: Helmut Krug (Germany). Real Madrid (0) 3 Bayer Leverkusen (0) 0 Agg (4-1) Borussia Dortmund (0) 1 Bayern Munich (0) 0 After Extra Time AT 90 mins 0-0 Agg (1-0) After Extra Time Dinamo Kiev (0) 1 Juventus (1) 4 Agg (2-5) _________________________________________________________________ March 19 1998 FOOTBALL Solskjaer's goal not enough as fluent French champions reach European Cup semi-finals Monaco shatter United's dream BY OLIVER HOLT FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT Manchester United 1 AS Monaco 1 IT WAS supposed to be their year, the year when they and their manager, Alex Ferguson, finally acted out the script that had been written for them and brought the European Cup back to Old Trafford. In the winter, Manchester United had stoked those hopes with performances that showed that they could match the best on the Continent, but last night against AS Monaco, drained of that fluency and disfigured by injury, the dream ebbed away for another season. As two other giants of European football, Juventus and Real Madrid, marched emphatically through to the semi-finals, United were unable to drag themselves out of the miserable form that has afflicted them almost since the turn of the year. They had wasted their best on the Champions' League and peaked at the wrong time. They had nothing left for the European Cup. After all the expectation and the misguided suggestion that, of all the quarter-finalists, Monaco were an easy touch, the defeat seemed particularly hard to bear for the legions of United supporters who had swarmed into the stadium confident that their team could secure the victory they needed to take them beyond the French champions. However, after being outplayed by Arsenal on Saturday, a defeat that suddenly brought their hitherto unchallenged dominance of the FA Carling Premiership into doubt, they were outclassed again last night. Their task now will be to lift themselves for a title race that they had consigned to the second rung in their ladder of priorities. Made to look ordinary by the polished Monegasques, who pulled them from pillar to post in the first half, they were left with an uphill struggle when David Trezeguet put the visitors ahead with a rasping drive in the fifth minute. It was the crucial away goal that United had not managed to eke out in the principality a fortnight ago. Although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer equalised early in the second half and United recovered some of their poise, they could not raise their game sufficiently to take them beyond their visitors. For the second night running, an English team had been eliminated from European competition on away goals. The size of United's task had become evident before the start, when the team-sheet revealed no place for Peter Schmeichel, their talismanic goalkeeper, or Ryan Giggs, the flying winger whom Ferguson had hoped against hope would make an early return from his hamstring injury. Van der Gouw did not let his team-mates down, but his first action was to pick the ball out of the net as the howling stadium was made quiet. Monaco had scored with their first attack and Ferguson admitted afterwards that he knew his side would struggle if they got off to a bad start. After Johnsen had been dragged out of position by lunging into a tackle, the ball broke to Benarbia, far more creative than he had been in Monaco, and he slipped a quick pass to Trezeguet, the gangly forward who had missed the first leg. Trezeguet ran on to the pass and lashed it right-footed past Van der Gouw into the roof of the net. For 25 minutes, Monaco bemused United with their guile and their speed. It was bewildering to see the English champions so apparently out of their depth. Ikpeba should have increased their lead after 18 minutes, when he ran on to a cross from Benarbia, but he could only head the bouncing ball straight into the arms of the United goalkeeper. United were sent reeling from another blow after 32 minutes, when Gary Neville, their stand-in captain, was forced off with a recurrence of the rib injury that he sustained against Arsenal. Unbeknown to the supporters, Paul Scholes was also suffering from a knee injury. He would not reappear after half-time. The frustration felt by Ferguson and his players increased just before the interval, when they were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty for handball after Sheringham's cross was blocked by the upraised arm of Djetou. By that time, though, just as in the semi-final, second leg last season against Borussia Dortmund, it was becoming clear that it would not be United's night. Seven minutes after half-time, they were given a glimpse of salvation by an equaliser from Solskjaer. Butt ran on to a weak defensive clearance and surged into the box. He was brought down by Dumas, but, just as the referee was about to point to the spot, Beckham swept a cross to the back post and the Norway forward volleyed it past Barthez. United nearly went ahead three minutes afterwards, when Clegg had a fierce drive tipped over by Barthez, but Monaco took the sting out of United's renewed optimism with a series of dangerous counter-attacks. Van der Gouw denied Henry, first blocking his shot and then gratefully clasping his attempted cross. Solskjaer had one clear chance 18 minutes from the end, when he appeared at the back post again to meet another cross from Beckham. This time, though, it took him too long to bring the ball under control and his shot was blocked by a last-ditch tackle. It was United's last chance. MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): R van der Gouw - P Neville, G Neville (sub: H Berg, 32min), R Johnsen, D Irwin - P Scholes (sub: M Clegg, 46), N Butt, D Beckham, O G Solskjaer - A Cole, E Sheringham. AS MONACO (5-3-2): F Barthez - W Sagnol, M Djetou, F Dumas, M Konjic (sub: F da Costa, 74), P Leonard - D Diawara, A Benarbia (sub: S Carnot, 66), J Collins - V Ikpeba (sub: T Henry, 60), D Trezeguet. Referee: H Krug (Germany). Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Limited. _______________________________________________________________________ March 19 1998 FOOTBALL Rob Hughes laments the fatal lack of enterprise shown in the first leg Ferguson exits with regrets Spring is coming, but the European nights will be completely barren for Great Britain unless Chelsea can qualify this evening for the semi-finals of the Cup Winners' Cup. If they do, the message will be writ even larger than at Villa Park on Tuesday and at Old Trafford last night . . . that unless you have the wit and courage to claim an away goal, not even the great fighting spirit of the British game can retrieve the situation. So, depleted as Alex Ferguson was entitled to say that Manchester United were, they drifted out of the European Cup without even losing. The instant that David Trezeguet struck his early goal last night, with such consummate venom from the right foot, United were forced to chase the game and to lament their unwillingness to gamble in Monte Carlo. AS Monaco, we keep hearing, have a fine team, but no explosive finisher: maybe, up to the fifth minute last night, United believed that myth. Trezeguet, tall, two-footed and brave, is just 20 years of age and looks to have the material to refute that suggestion. He may go no further in this competition, for now Monaco are up against the likes of Juventus, who, thanks to three goals from Filippo Inzaghi in Kiev, are semi-finalists once again. Real Madrid, having scored in the away leg against Bayer Leverkusen, swatted aside the Germans 3-0 in the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Borussia Dortmund complete the final four after knocking out Bayern Munich, their great Bundesliga rivals, in extra time. To be sure, United carried too many wounds yesterday. To start without Schmeichel, without Pallister, without Keane and, as John Collins, the tigerish Monaco midfield player, admitted, above all, without the invention of Ryan Giggs, is too much of a load. How galling for Ferguson, who felt that he was closer than ever to the big trophy that has eluded him, to see a fellow Scot run the midfield. How exasperating for David Beckham, United's outstanding performer in heart, mind and perceptive talent, to be forced to work like a Trojan in midfield, covering for others, for absentees, and all too rarely released to give United wit and intelligence on the right. Inevitably, it was Beckham who offered Solskjaer the opportunity to poach the equaliser last night. It was a livid Ferguson who saw, just before half-time, a blatant handball by Djetou, which cut out an attempt by Sheringham at an overhead centre, and should have been a penalty. But, in truth, Djetou was the master of Sheringham, the proof that the Londoner may wear the mantle of Eric Cantona, but, in the final analysis, cannot conjure something out of nothing, the way that Cantona did even when United's sometimes gauche young team tired, as they did last night. Like Aston Villa before them, they showed the virtues of English football by threatening, for 20 minutes in the second half, to overrun the techniques and the almost arrogant control that Monaco had held earlier on the game. Djetou cannot be described as the biggest athlete to bestride Old Trafford, not in a season when Jonah Lomu, the 17st New Zealand All Black, has trampled that turf, but what a defender, what a limpet he proved to be in denying Sheringham the room to create. Djetou had told Jean Tigana, his coach - indeed, told the people of France - beforehand that he would not allow Sheringham to breathe life and intelligence into United. The ease with which he accomplished that task bodes ill for England, if Sheringham is to be the springboard between midfield and attack at the World Cup. "Had I been able to pick a more representative side, we would have beaten them right enough," Ferguson insisted defiantly. He and his team must now convert that defiance, as they surely can, to proving themselves the best team in the FA Carling Premiership. Where they erred in Europe was on that false mission to Monaco: they had satisfied themselves with denial, reckoned without Monaco's proven away goalscoring form. And, crucially, they had played with a slack tempo, not appreciating that eight Monaco players already had yellow cards. Two of them, Collins and Leonard, received a second one last night when the pressure was high. They miss the first leg of the semi-final and, had United dared, it could so easily have been the second leg of the quarter-final. "All or nothing!" Wilf McGuinness, the former United manager, had said in a greeting to Paddy Crerand before the kick-off. United gave their all, and finished with nothing. Copyright 1998 Times Newspapers Limited. |
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