All rights reserved. Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: "We had 90 minutes control of the game against a side like Manchester City. United were confounded. With 19 minutes left, Beckham, on for Veron, bent one of his imperious free-kicks past the left-hand of Casillas. If he has had any need to vindicate himself to suspicious Real fans, he has rehabilitated himself now.The reaction to his substitution reflects gloriously on United's supporters. Luis Figo had come over to the left wing and his body language declared that he saw opportunity for his refined right foot, even though the angle would have discouraged most. United were capable of no more than gawping wonder. Sir Alex Ferguson's team, with a dogged desire to attack when possible, contributed to the drama. United have to decide if this was a throwback to the cringeworthy nights of the early 90s or simply a rendezvous with a truly great team. Real were flustered enough for Zidane to head weakly to Giggs, who had been shuffled into the middle of the attack after the opening goal, and he fired wide.Two minutes from half-time, the Welshman played an excellent pass to Solskjaer and the Norwegian forced the ball across the six-yard box for Van Nistelrooy to record his 14th Champions League goal of the season. From a 25-year-old, such abundance is almost baffling. By the interval Real were subtly imperious, switching suddenly from ambling manoeuvres to a hair-raising inspiration. In a search for a replacement to join Claude Makelele in constructing a midfield barrier McManaman might have been ruled out by most coaches.
United must have believed that they could block Real, direct them down blind alleys and so make a grittier conflict of this fixture. A Ronaldo hat-trick ended Manchester United's Champions League hopes despite a thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid at Old Trafford. Zidane set Roberto Carlos running free and his careful cut-back was turned in from close range. The attacker's strong, low 20-yard shot was perfect. Real, with 28 minutes gone, took matters into their own hands. Real were not so very secure themselves, but the truth of that proposition would have been doubted as they lashed in a third goal in the 49th minute.
United, laboured though they were in comparison with sleek Real, could count on their character. The Dutchman will always bet that his shot is faster than the goalkeeper's reflexes and his wager was close to succeeding as Iker Casillas just raised his fists to turn the angled drive for a corner.Gradually, though, United found that they could make space for their elan. Yet Frisk saw nothing amiss, and he had no greater taste for intervention when Barthez absent-mindedly palmed the ball outside the penalty area soon after. Primitive arithmetic states that a 2-0 win would send United through, but this was a game that demands more subtle calculations. United knew then that the tie was beyond them and Casillas made expert saves before a Veron drive was turned past him by a deflection off Ivan Helguera.Real still trusted in their ebullience and there was no trace of self-doubt in Ronaldo as he ran, steadied himself and crashed a 25-yarder high beyond Barthez. But the Portuguese virtuoso had the nerve to shape a shot around Fabien Barthez and high into the far corner. Nonetheless, United had believed they could do much more than shake their heads in regret of their plight and in respect for the victors. But you want to win and we did not.
In under half an hour they were already 2-0 down and indebted to the referee Anders Frisk for not awarding a blatant penalty. Van Nistelrooy, with his back to goal, had just hooked a difficult oppor tunity over the bar when Real scored in the 12th minute. Welcome to your one-stop shop for all things Manchester United FC. The Old Trafford club could not cope with the searing build-up in midfield and here was reaffirmation that no one else quite has such delicate and deceptive touches as that otherwise robust midfielder Zinedine Zidane. I … One of the Spanish sports papers had flatly declared this meeting to be the best game in the world. The cat-calls in Madrid had their effect at last as Vicente del Bosque dropped Flavio Conceicao.