RED11.ORG

We had played thirteen competitive matches in Germany since the infancy of the European Cup, winning five and losing four. Two were in Leverkusen, a town on the outskirts of Cologne, where we were unlucky to draw the 2002 semi-final; Ronny Johnsen and Diego Forlán had efforts cleared off the line and we lost on away goals. Months later we won a group match there by two goals to one through Ruud van Nistelrooy and Nicky Butt; Dimitar Berbatov pulled one back for them and headed against our post in the last minute.

Bayer have played at their present ground since 1958 long before the club, formed originally for the drug company employees, had climbed to the Bundesliga. Originally it had a 20,000 capacity and was named after Ulrich Haberland, who was largely responsible for the recovery and expansion of the drug company after the Second World War. Since rebuilding started in 1986 the stadium seems to have been a continuous work in progress. By 1997 in response to the Bundesliga riots it was Germany’s first all-seater, in horse shoe design, stands on both sides and at one end. The bid to be a part of the 2006 World Cup failed because of the stadium capacity, and the promised consolation of being training ground for the German team did not materialize. The latest renovation, started in 2007, increased capacity and introduced huge screens, an amazing roof and a standing area which can be converted to seating to meet UEFA rules. On a cold Westphalian night 26,000 filled it up to watch the stuttering English Champions face a side lying second in the Bundesliga having won twelve of their last thirteen home games, drawing only the one against European Champions Bayern. Not one of them could have imagined what they were about to witness.

There were changes from United’s line-up against Cardiff; Nani was given the start in place of Adnan Januzaj and crucially the defensive midfield was replaced by a more creative one, Phil Jones, Ryan Giggs and Shinji Kagawa as the spine. The experience, against cultured opponents, was the reverse of Sunday’s unhappy excursion to Cardiff in so many respects. We kept the ball, passed better, restricted the hosts to intermittent incursions into our area and broke with devastating effect. We began well but after about ten minutes Bayer sustained an attack as they probed and prodded our weaknesses. From this came our first counter-attack, Jonny Evans to Patrice Evra, Giggs a lovely reverse pass to Kagawa, Nani, playing his first Champions League match since that traumatic experience against Real Madrid, curling his shot narrowly over the bar. The pattern was set; we hardly looked back.

Son Heung-Min was allowed a couple of shots from distance but Evans looked in control of matters, an impression which proved crucial with twenty minutes gone by which time we had conceded a couple of headers at corners and suffered a fright when the linesman took an age to flag Gonzalo Castro offside. When Stefan Kiessling picked his way through the centre of our defence he was clean through and Evans’ superb tackle saved a certain goal. Within a few seconds Kagawa had robbed Stefan Reinartz from a throw-in deep in our half and we surged forward again. Kagawa’s reverse ball found Giggs, Giggs fed Rooney who crossed the ball to the far post where, as Kagawa made the dummy run, Valencia stabbed home at full stretch off the inside of the post; 22 minutes 1-0.

From Rooney’s clever free kick Giggs got round the back and centred, affording both Evans and Jones shots. The Germans were finding Kagawa a handful and fouling him frequently. When Stefan Reinartz did so near the left touchline the defenders lined up too deep, making Rooney’s curling kick difficult to defend, a fact demonstrated by Emir Spahić who, under pressure from Chris Smalling, glanced it into his own net; 30 minutes 2-0.

As half time approached however we began to let them come at us; Lars Bender got the ball off Evra but could not get past Evans; the BayArena crowd had been stunned into silence and David Moyes could be heard yelling at the players to break out. Nani heeded the instruction with another speedy break though he ended with a sloppy cross but Spahić gave it back; Toprak cleared Smalling’s cross and Bernd Leno saved Valencia’s follow-up.

It was impossible to be sure that we would not squander our authority by sitting back but when the second half began Valencia crossed for Kagawa; Leno fisted it out. Spahić’s nightmare continued as he gave the ball away to Nani who exchanged with Rooney but dragged his shot wide. There were signs as the hour approached that the Germans might still make a fight of it; we had particular difficulty with dead ball moves. Toprak connected with a free kick, Rio Ferdinand had to clear a corner kick but the next corner was headed by Reinartz, ricocheted off Giggs and hit the post. De Gea got down to keep out the follow-up.

It was not to be Bayer’s night; they never dealt with the Rooney-Kagawa combination and were unable to cope with Giggs’ probing and Valencia’s crossing. Rooney nutmegged Rolfes and shot close to the post. The next Valencia run led to the corner which settled the match once for all and exposed the home side’s frailties. From Giggs’ kick Evra, the shortest man on the pitch, won the header. Rooney got a toe to it in the crowded goalmouth and when Leno parried his effort Evans was on hand to shuffle it clumsily over the line; 65 minutes 3-0.

All confidence drained from the Germans. They would get themselves into promising positions and then dither to a chorus of catcalls from their own fans. They improved a little when they brought on substitutes but we resolved the problem by keeping possession and when this failed Spahić gave us the ball back. From the corner kick Valencia was successfully tackled but Giulio Donati made a schoolboy error, passing infield to Jones on the edge of the area. Kagawa provided a cutely dinked pass to Rooney, whose shot Smalling, unmarked inside the six yard box, converted by helping it on its way; 77 minutes 4-0.

Rooney and Valencia were withdrawn for Anderson and Ashley Young. Sadly, faced with opportunity against demoralised opponents, each of the newcomers gave a cameo of his United career so far; Anderson won the ball, powered the length of the field, exchanged with Nani and scuffed his shot. Young made insufficient impression for an experienced England international. It took the ascetic Welsh maestro to show them; with one touch with the inside of his left foot Giggs guided a beautifully weighted pass to put Nani through on the goalkeeper. Nani chested it past Leno and nonchalantly flicked it into the empty net; it was a miracle of rare device; 88 minutes 5-0.

With Leverkusen’s famous Ultras performing loyally and euphoniously for their battered side long after the fickle German middle classes had deserted to leave the stadium half empty, Kiessling laid off the ball for Eren Derdiyok to force the only difficult save that de Gea had had to make all night, and a fine one it was too, considering the deflection. The battle had long been decided, United qualified for the next stage of the competition.

David Moyes was inspired to outglory glory and proclaim a new dawn but one remembers Dave Sexton going to the mountain top and seeing the Promised Land during a bodacious win against Norwich City. No matter what transpires, however, such an epical night should be savoured for itself; history is immeasurably wealthier by a single sweet day.

This was the first time we had scored five away from home in Europe since the six we got at Brøndby in 1998 on our way to the treble; Giggs got the first two that night. Leverkusen is a much more impressive scalp. It was on such a night as this that Georgie Best’s cheeky goal and breathtaking display of teenage brilliance tore Borussia apart in Dortmund in 1964; six-one, including a thunderbolt hat trick from Bobby Charlton. On such a night as this did we destroy Racing Club in Strasbourg in the Inter Fairs Cities Cup quarter final of 1965, Denis law leading that massacre with two goals. Indeed in all our European history this is only arithmetically bettered as an away result by the six we scored without reply one afternoon at Shamrock Rovers in 1957 when Tommy Taylor and Liam Whelan got two apiece and Johnny Berry and David Pegg two between them. Perchance to dream that Moyes revive within us symphony and song to such a deep delight ‘twould make the music loud and long, and build a dynasty anew. And all should cry beware, beware for he tonight on honey dew hath fed and drunk the milk of paradise.

Paul Andrew James