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Sheringham leads from front on United's night of triumph
By Henry Winter at Old Trafford | |
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Manchester Utd (1) 3 Juventus (1) 2 ON ONE of the greatest nights of European Cup football here, Manchester United overcame the absence of Roy Keane, the concession of a goal after 24 seconds, and all the pre-match predictions to seize the initiative in Group B of the Champions' League. It was a magnificent effort, full of character and commitment against a team who were not afraid to use strong-arm tactics to stop the youthful champions of England. Confronted by adversity and aggression, Alex Ferguson's team would not be put off, not by the bullying of Didier Deschamps or Paolo Montero, nor by Alessandro Del Piero's early goal. They simply regrouped, refocused their attacks to take in the wings, and began the humiliation of the European Cup favourites. This was Juventus's first defeat in the Champions' League group stage. It was a team triumph, in which every United player gave his all, but mention has to go to Teddy Sheringham, who scored on his first game in Europe. With intelligent movement, and precision in possession, Sheringham at last looked a United player. Paul Scholes, when he arrived, also confirmed his international calibre, scoring United's second. The comeback was rounded off brilliantly by Ryan Giggs, who mesmerised Juventus's right side before drilling the ball in. Zinedine Zidane's late riposte from a free-kick did little to ruin the party. Concerned about Juventus's midfield threat, Ferguson played it safe in Keane's absence, installing Ronny Johnsen as Zidane's shadow, briefly sacrificing the attacking potential of Scholes. Ferguson's game plan was simple: to squeeze the Italians' celebrated central midfield, a move that initially saw United bereft of width. Such was the power and precision of Juventus's high-tempo start that United were forced to change strategies. But before they could allow Ryan Giggs, who began in the space behind Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and David Beckham to take wing, United were struggling in arrears, stung by one of the fastest goals in the history of the European Cup. From the kick-off Johnsen sought to dribble his way through Juventus's midfield. What a mistake. Deschamps, once ridiculed by Eric Cantona as a "water-carrier", pounced on a below-par touch, whisking the ball forward as United sought to regain their shape. Too late. Deschamps and Manuel Dimas worked the ball through United's back four, on towards Del Piero, who sprinted into open space. United, and their incensed support, screamed for offside but replays showed Del Peiro judged his dart exquisitely. United's defence, not the referee's assistant, were at fault. So on Del Piero glided, tricking Peter Schmeichel with skill, before sliding his 13th European Cup goal into the net. Only the great Michel Platini has scored more for the Old Lady in the greatest club competition of them all. Old Trafford was in ferment. Every Juventus touch sparked booing. United tried to keep their discipline but frustration crept in. Nicky Butt was targeted by some rough challenges, an inelegant trait of the visitors, one of which eventually took its toll, seeing the midfielder departing from the fray after the half-hour mark. Down to 10 men, as Ferguson pondered his options, United actually seemed a more potent unit. This was not simply the doubled desire of men stirred by adversity. It was tactical, Giggs at last heading for the wide pastures. United had given notice of their threat from the flanks, when Gary Neville's long throw ended with a Sheringham header over-ruled for offside. Beckham, too, had used the space well, triggering a move which saw the ball swept to Giggs, Sheringham and then Solskjaer, whose low shot was well blocked by Angelo Peruzzi. But the message had sunk in. After 37 minutes Sheringham drilled the ball out to Giggs on the left and the Welshman was off, accelerating past two defenders before hoisting the ball to the far post. Sheringham, continuing his run well, climbed high to head across Peruzzi, who reacted too poorly to prevent the ball going in. As the cheers rang around the ground, Scholes arrived to stiffen United's midfield. Juventus were soon punished for their bouts of cynicism. After 63 minutes Deschamps departed for a second bookable offence, this time the blatant grasping of Johnsen's shirt. United seized their chance. Within seven minutes they were ahead. Pallister harried Juventus's back line and found Scholes, who coolly stroked through before slipping the ball past Peruzzi. The Italians complained that Sheringham was in an offside position but the damage was already done. When Sheringham set up Giggs's late run and goal Old Trafford dissolved into euphoria which could not be affected by Zidane's late free-kick. _________________________________________________________________ Man Utd (1) 3 Juventus (1) 2 Giggs 89, Scholes 69, Sheringham 38; Del Piero 1, Zidane 90. Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister, Beckham, Butt (Scholes 38), Sheringham, Giggs, Solskjaer (P. Neville 48), Berg. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, May, McClair, Clegg, Curtis. Booked: Giggs. Juventus: Peruzzi, Ferrara, Montero, Pecchia (Iuliano 68), Dimas, Inzaghi, Del Piero (Amoruso 77), Deschamps, Birindelli, Tacchinardi (Pessotto 19), Zidane. Subs Not Used: Rampulla, Padovano, Fonseca, Zamboni. Sent Off: Deschamps (65). Booked: Deschamps, Pecchia, Ferrara, Del Piero. Att: 53,428 Ref: A Lopez Nieto (Spain). P W D L F A Pts Manchester Utd 2 2 0 0 6 2 6 Juventus 2 1 0 1 7 4 3 Feyenoord 2 1 0 1 3 5 3 FC Kosice 2 0 0 2 0 5 0 _________________________________________________________________ Ferguson praises 'fabulous' victory By William Johnson ALEX FERGUSON could not conceal his joy after his Manchester United team rose superbly to the challenge to avenge last season's heartaches at the hands of Juventus and take command of Group B. "That's a fabulous win for us," said Ferguson. "It's a win that showed a lot of maturity and character, considering we started 1-0 down." Ferguson was proud of the way his players fought back from that first-minute shock of seeing Alessandro del Piero beat his new captain, Peter Schmeichel. "The experience of last year certainly helped my players. We thoroughly deserved this, we were outstanding tonight." It was an amazing victory for United, considering they were deprived of the midfield strength of club captain Roy Keane and then lost his regular midfield partner Nicky Butt, who went off with double vision. "The players showed that they can rise to the big occasion," said Ferguson. "It's a measure of how far we've come. Our league form has not been that great so far, so this might give us the spur we are looking for." Marcello Lippi, the Juventus coach, criticised his players' discipline in focusing on the turning point of the night - the dismissal of his central midfielder Didier Deschamps for a second yellow card. "After his sending-off things became more difficult for us," said Lippi. "After all the years of playing international football we've got to learn to be more careful regarding the collecting of yellow cards. "We are disappointed to lose this one but we will be going out now to win our remaining games and see how we go on from there." _________________________________________________________________ United celebrate glory night with revenge over Juve (Updates with quotes, descriptive) By Mike Collett MANCHESTER, Oct 1 (Reuter) - Manchester United fashioned a glorious victory, and avenged last season's defeats, with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Juventus in a pulsating European Champions' League group B match on Wednesday. Goals by Teddy Sheringham, Paul Scholes and a superb strike from Ryan Giggs in the last minute gave United victory over the club that beat them 1-0 home and away en route to the European Cup Final last season. It also put them top of group B with two straight wins. The night began perfectly for Juve who took the lead after only 24 seconds when Alessandro Del Piero rounded goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and defender Henning Berg to score from close range. United, playing without their injured skipper Roy Keane, gradually recovered their composure after that goal had silenced the 53,000 crowd, and they equalised when Sheringham headed home Giggs' cross in the 38th minute. Then, with the game evenly-balanced at 1-1 midway through the second half, it swung suddenly in United's favour. After 66 minutes Juve's French midfielder Didier Deschamps was sent off for a second yellow card -- his tug on Ronny Johnsen's shirt proving a costly error. It allowed United to take control of midfield and, three minutes later, they went 2-1 up through a controversial goal from Scholes. The young England forward, who came on for the injured Nicky Butt towards the end of the first half, shot past advancing Juve goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi as the defence stood still, waiting for the referee to blow for offside against Sheringham. The whistle never came, the goal stood and United were on their way to a victory which was clinched in the last minute when Sheringham sent Giggs away on the left. The Welsh winger, who terrorised Juve all night, swept past the last defender and cracked the ball inside Peruzzi's far post for a stunning goal which made it 3-1. Zinedine Zidane immediately pulled a goal back for Juve from a direct free-kick but United hung on to take a thoroughly deserved three points. "We were outstanding," said United manager Alex Ferguson afterwards. "We have matured a lot since being beaten twice by Juventus last season...(and)...I think the players can now believe in themselves. "This is a very tough group and to beat Juventus took a lot of heart, a lot of patience and a lot of hard work. "I think in some ways it was bad for Juventus to score so early, they might have thought it was going to be easy. But my players rose to the challenge. "Sometimes when the pot starts to boil at Old Trafford there is no stopping it because of the crowd and the atmosphere and everything and that was the case tonight." Juventus coach Marcello Lippi said that the result proved that United had improved since last season. "We played a very good game but they were very tough," said Lippi. "I think we damaged our own chances when Deschamps was sent off but United fought very well. We must be more careful about picking up yellow cards." While Deschamps is suspended for the next three matches, Juve picked up another three yellow cards and Ciro Ferrara's second in the competition means he will miss their next game against Kosice on October 22. Ferguson, however, felt the referee had been lenient on the Italians. "How (Paolo) Montero stayed on the field for some of the tackles he put in is a mystery to me," he said. "Italian defenders do defend aggressively but I was surprised he wasn't sent off." © Reuters Limited 1997 _________________________________________________________________ Juventus fail as others turn on the style (Adds details, quotes) By Alan Baldwin LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuter) - Manchester United took revenge against Juventus in the European Champions' League on Wednesday while former champions Bayern Munich and Real Madrid gained important away wins. On a night in which several top teams thrashed lesser opponents by four or five goals, Juventus saw their hopes rise and fall at Old Trafford. The Italians, 1996 winners and last season's losing finalists, lost 3-2 after going ahead in the first minute through Alessandro Del Piero and then having midfielder Didier Deschamps sent off in the 66th. United fought back with Teddy Sheringham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs to avenge their 1-0 home defeat by the Turin giants last season and lead group B on six points. Zinedine Zidane made it 3-2 in the last minute. "We were outstanding," said United manager Alex Ferguson. Feyenoord, thrashed 5-1 by the Italians in the opening game, are now challenging Juventus on three points after beating unsung Kosice of Slovakia 2-0 in the Netherlands. The Slovaks have yet to score a goal. Real Madrid, who overcame former winners Porto 2-0 in Oporto, also gave a command performance with fine goals from Fernando Hierro and Raul Gonzalez. "Real gave an exhibition of really modern soccer," said the Spanish club's coach Jupp Heynckes. "It would be hard to play better than we did in the first half." Real, the only club to win the European Cup five successive times, stayed top of group D with a maximum six points. Bayern, who won the title three times consecutively in the 1970s, also took their tally to six points from two matches in group E by beating Gothenburg 3-1 away. The Germans were also given a big boost by group rivals Besiktas, who defeated Paris St Germain 3-1 in Turkey. Parma, who have never won the Italian league title, overcame Turkey's Galatasaray 2-0 at home in group A for the first Champions' League win in their history. Argentine attackers Nestor Sensini and Hernan Crespo scored in the 23rd and 39th minutes. Parma are also the only team in the Champions' league yet to concede a goal, something that augurs well for their next match against holders Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund, coached by former Parma boss Nevio Scala, crushed Sparta Prague 4-1 after being chided last week by the club president for complacency in the German league. Swiss striker Stephane Chapuisat scored twice as the Germans stayed top of group A. Newcastle United, who beat Barcelona 3-2 in their first Champions' League match, pulled off one of the comebacks of the night in group C against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine. They fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 after their striker Faustino Asprilla went off injured. John Beresford scored both Newcastle goals in the last 12 minutes. Barcelona, now coached by Dutchman Louis Van Gaal, continued to fire fitfully in their bid to regain the trophy they lifted for the only time in 1992 and were also the victims of a late comeback by PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch former champions were 2-1 down four minutes from time but Peter Moeller equalised. It was the first point for both teams, who remained three points adrift of Kiev and Newcastle. Norway's Rosenborg went on a goal rush and beat Greece's Olympiakos Piraeus 5-1 for their first points in group D. French champions Monaco lifted their campaign off the ground after a disappointing first match defeat by Sporting Lisbon in group F by trouncing Bayer Leverkusen 4-0. Bayer had defender Robert Kovacs sent off in the 69th minute for his second bookable offence. Sporting went top of the group on four points after a 1-1 draw at Lierse in Belgium. © Reuters Limited 1997 _________________________________________________________________ FERGIE DELIGHT AT UNITED SHOW By Rob King, PA Sport Alex Ferguson hailed his Manchester United heroes tonight and told England: "If you show the same belief in Rome next week you will also come through." The English champions finally laid the bogey of Juventus in a heart-stopping 3-2 victory over the Italians who finished with 10 men at Old Trafford, making it third time lucky after a double European Champions' League defeat last season. "I can't tell you how pleased I am," said delighted 'Fergie' afterwards. "It was a game in which, no matter who played for us, they all had the heart for it. At times we played some excellent football and we deserved our victory. "Everyone was ready for the game. It was a challenge for them and we've seen it many times at Old Trafford - when the pot starts to boil it can't be stopped. "The atmosphere and crowd are hard to overcome, and Juventus would probably be the first to admit that." It looked like another European disaster when Alessandro Del Piero, the new darling of Turin, skipped through after just 24 seconds to put the visitors ahead. But United, who started without Roy Keane and lost Nicky Butt to concussion, stormed back to level through England ace Teddy Sheringham on his European debut. They forged ahead through another England star, Paul Scholes, midway through the second half and looked to have sealed an impressive victory when Ryan Giggs scored a wonderful solo goal in the dying minutes. But as stoppage time ticked on, Zinedine Zidane curled home a beautiful free kick to make it 3-2 and Ferguson admitted: "I hope we don't come to regret that goal by November." He added: "The start to the game may have been a bad thing for Juventus. To score so early and so easily they may have thought 'this is quite easy coming here'. "But that would be a discredit to my players, who were really up for this. I don't know how you explain our Premiership form when you know they are capable of something like this. It was all about maturity, patience and working hard. "When you play Juventus you know you'll have to work your socks off but we surpassed them in that tonight. "Some players distinguished themselves and you get that on nights like these." The biggest star was Welsh wizard Giggs, who made Sheringham's first goal and was outstanding in the weakened midfield. "We wanted to get to Zidane quickly, and apart from the first 10 minutes Ronny Johnsen did that well," said Ferguson. "We played Giggs through central midfield for the penetration he could give us, although we had to change that when Nicky Butt came off. But no matter where Giggs played tonight I think he would have excelled - he was fresh and ready for the challenge." He also praised Sheringham, who has struggled to fill the void left by Eric Cantona and said: "It's a great night for him to score such an important goal." The Italians had Frenchman Didier Deschamps sent off two minutes before Paul Scholes made it 2-1 and Ferguson admitted that was a key moment. But he insisted: "I think this result changes the shape of the group, there's no question about that. "If it was a league you would be delighted with a three-point lead with four games to go. "But everyone can make mistakes - that's why I hope we don't regret their last-minute goal." However, United now look certain, barring some ridiculous slip-ups, to finish at least as one of the two best runners-up to reach the quarter-finals. However, Juventus coach Marcello Lippi insisted: "If Manchester United win their remaining games but lose in Turin we could still come out on top." And he is not sure either that United have improved that dramatically or that Juventus have declined after changing their front two. "If you look at this result it suggests that, but I don't agree," he said. "I think we suffered a lot more in the final half-hour last season than tonight, even when we were down to 10 men. "We were only in some difficulty after the sending-off. We certainly haven't been cut down to size. The only thing I will point out to my players is they must be more careful about yellow cards." But he held up his hands to praise the contribution of Giggs, saying: "He is a very great player - and they told me he was injured!" © PA Sporting Life |
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