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www.red11.org DAILY NEWS
Date: Thu Mar 04 07:39:52 GMT+00:00 1999
Mail: barry@www.red11.org
This Issue:
1. Man Utd 2-0 Inter Milan
2. Two-goal Yorke leads United towards semifinals
3. United - Inter by Terry
4. Inter thoughts by Boon Wee
5. STRIKER STEALS THE SHOW ON A NIGHT OF HEROES AT OLD TRAFFORD
6. ALL DWIGHT ON THE NIGHT
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Daily RED Trivia Thursday 4th March 1999:
4/3/1963: In a much-delayed FA Cup 3rd Round tie United beat Huddersfield Town
5-0 at Old Trafford thanks to a Denis Law hat-trick and goals from Johnny Giles
and Albert Quixall. The attendance was 47,703. Team was: Gregg, Brennan,
Cantwell, Stiles, Foulkes, Setters, Giles, Quixall, Herd, Law, Charlton.
1995: United annihilate Ipswich Town 9-0 at Old Trafford in a Premiership game
watched by 43,804. Andy Cole scored 5 goals, Mark Hughes 2, and others came
from Roy Keane and Paul Ince. Team was: Schmeichel, Keane (Sharpe), Irwin,
Bruce (Butt), Kanchelskis, Pallister, Cole, Ince, McClair, Hughes, Giggs.
***************
Barry Daily Comment:
The perfect result! The whole team took a gigantic leap last night
100% profesional team work everyone working for each other.
Congrats to ALL Worldwide REDS! Match reports galore today......
Previous News:
Brian Kidd Press conference, pic, real audio
http://www.iol.ie/~redcafe/kidd.htm
Peter Schmeichel's last Season at United!
http://www.red11.org/mufc/news/schmeichel.htm
Next games:
ALL Result/Fixture Index:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/fix9899z.htm
March
7 Chelsea (H) 14.00 FAC6 *SKY SPORTS* LIVE* + DkTV1 Scand.
10 Liverpool (A) 19.45 PL (moved due to FAC)
13 Newcastle (A) 15.00 PL
17 Inter Milan (A) ECL "Quarter Final" 2nd leg 19.45
21 Everton (H) 15.00 PL
UNITED Stats v All teams:
http://www.red11.org/mufc/stats/
*** RESULTS AND ATTENDANCES ON 03/03/99 ***
Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Wimbledon 24,116
*** LEAGUE TABLE AS AT 03/03/99 ***
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
---------------------------------------------------------
1 Manchester United 28 16 9 3 63 29 34 57
2 Chelsea 27 14 11 2 41 22 19 53
3 Arsenal 27 13 11 3 35 13 22 50
4 Leeds United 27 12 9 6 41 26 15 45
5 Aston Villa 27 12 8 7 38 31 7 44
6 Wimbledon 27 10 10 7 32 37 -5 40
7 West Ham United 27 11 7 9 31 38 -7 40
8 Liverpool 27 11 6 10 50 34 16 39
9 Derby County 27 9 11 7 26 25 1 38
10 Tottenham Hotspur 27 8 12 7 33 32 1 36
11 Sheffield Wednesday 27 10 5 12 35 27 8 35
12 Newcastle United 27 9 8 10 35 36 -1 35
13 Middlesbrough 27 7 12 8 34 39 -5 33
14 Leicester City 26 7 9 10 26 36 -10 30
15 Everton 27 6 10 11 20 29 -9 28
16 Charlton Athletic 27 6 9 12 31 37 -6 27
17 Coventry City 27 7 6 14 28 38 -10 27
18 Blackburn Rovers 27 6 8 13 27 38 -11 26
19 Southampton 27 6 5 16 26 53 -27 23
20 Nottingham Forest 27 3 8 16 22 54 -32 17
*** TEAM RESULTS - MANCHESTER UNITED - AS AT 20/02/99 ***
Date Opposition Score Pos. Attend.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
15/08/98 Leicester City Home D 2-2 11 55,052
22/08/98 West Ham United Away D 0-0 11 26,039
09/09/98 Charlton Athletic Home W 4-1 9 55,147
12/09/98 Coventry City Home W 2-0 5 55,193
20/09/98 Arsenal Away L 0-3 10 38,142
24/09/98 Liverpool Home W 2-0 3 55,181
03/10/98 Southampton Away W 3-0 2 15,251
17/10/98 Wimbledon Home W 5-1 2 55,265
24/10/98 Derby County Away D 1-1 2 30,867
31/10/98 Everton Away W 4-1 2 40,079
08/11/98 Newcastle United Home D 0-0 3 55,174
14/11/98 Blackburn Rovers Home W 3-2 2 55,198
21/11/98 Sheffield Wednesday Away L 1-3 2 39,475
29/11/98 Leeds United Home W 3-2 2 55,172
05/12/98 Aston Villa Away D 1-1 2 39,241
12/12/98 Tottenham Hotspur Away D 2-2 1 36,079
16/12/98 Chelsea Home D 1-1 2 55,159
19/12/98 Middlesbrough Home L 2-3 3 55,152
26/12/98 Nottingham Forest Home W 3-0 3 55,216
29/12/98 Chelsea Away D 0-0 3 34,741
10/01/99 West Ham United Home W 4-1 3 55,180
16/01/99 Leicester City Away W 6-2 2 22,091
31/01/99 Charlton Athletic Away W 1-0 1 20,043
03/02/99 Derby County Home W 1-0 1 55,174
06/02/99 Nottingham Forest Away W 8-1 1 30,025
17/02/99 Arsenal Home D 1-1 1 55,171
20/02/99 Coventry City Away W 1-0 1 22,596
27/02/99 Southampton Home W 2-1 1 55,316
******
This weeks fixtures:
*** QUARTER-FINALS FIXTURES ON 06/03/99 ***
Arsenal v Derby County
Barnsley v Tottenham Hotspur
*** QUARTER-FINALS FIXTURES ON 07/03/99 ***
Manchester United v Chelsea
Newcastle United v Everton
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Premier League
*** FIXTURES ON 02/03/99 ***
Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton
*** FIXTURES ON 03/03/99 ***
Sheffield Wednesday v Wimbledon
*** FIXTURES ON 06/03/99 ***
Coventry City v Charlton Athletic
Southampton v West Ham United
Wimbledon v Leicester City
Champions League:
Group D P W D L F A Pts
Bayern Munich 6 3 2 1 9 6 11
Man United 6 2 4 0 20 11 10
Barcelona 6 2 2 2 11 9 8
Brondby 6 1 0 5 4 18 3
Dec 9 Brøndby 0-2 Barcelona
Dec 9 Man Utd 1-1 Bayern Munich
******
CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALS
Manchester Utd 2 v 0 Inter Milan
Real Madrid 1 v 1 Dynamo Kiev
Juventus 2 v 1 Olympiakos
Bayern Munich 2 v 0 Kaiserslautern
return Ties to be played on March 17
FAC Quarter Finals Draw ties to be
played the weekend of Saturday, March 6:
Newcastle United v Everton
Barnsley v Spurs
Arsenal v Derby
Manchester United v Chelsea (Sunday 7/3 1400 hrs UK)
++++++=========+++++++========+++++++++========++++++++
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Subject: Man Utd 2-0 Inter Milan
Dwight Yorke and David Beckham combined twice to keep Manchester United's
European Cup hopes very-much alive with a comfortable victory over Inter
Milan at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Beckham twice found Inter sleeping to produce inch-perfect crosses to Yorke
- who gladly headed home to leave United 2-0 up without reply after the
first-leg.
The game had begun somewhat disjointedly, with the United attack pressing
one of the best defensive units in Europe.
Beckham v Simeone
Much of the talk before the game had concentrated on the Beckham versus
Diego Simeone battle. And fans certainly weren't disappointed.
Beckham's first tackle on the Argentinian - whose actions contributed to
his red card during the World Cup - made his intentions evident.
David Beckham outshone his Argentinian rival
The England midfielder had clearly been targeted by the Italians as the key
to the game - and after only seven minutes he showed just why.
After shaving the cross-bar with his first free-kick of the game he then
combined superbly with Yorke to give United a dream start to the clash.
It was Beckham's cross that found an unmarked Yorke six yards out and he
headed neatly into the net.
Simeone retaliated almost immediately for Inter - hitting a blistering
30-yard shot which curled just to the right of Peter Schmeichel's post.
But United clearly had the upper-hand - pushing Inter back into their half.
Inch-perfect partnership
The Beckham-Yorke combination was undoubtedly causing the Italians problems
with their back-line looking particularly shaky.
In contrast the United defence looked settled - closing down Youri
Djorkaeff, Ivan Zamorano and Roberto Baggio with ease.
The pace of game soon began to increase - with a poor Old Trafford surface
quickly digging up after days of heavy rain.
Ryan Giggs then made a superb break - unusually on the right flank -
passing inside to Yorke who blasted the ball - only for it to rebound off
Francesco Colonnese
Zamorano and Roy Keane then received the first cards of the match - clearly
in disagreement over a Paul Scholes challenge.
It signalled a good period of pressure from United with Andy Cole denied by
Gianluca Pagliuca after another excellent Beckham cross.
Inter were surviving on scraps and it was no surprise when Beckham and
Yorke combined again in an almost exact replay to push United further in
front.
Minutes into injury time, another deep run from Beckham saw him flight the
ball perfectly to Yorke who steered it in for his seventh goal in as many
European games.
Pace increases
United started where they left off after the break - and should have found
a third after only 45 seconds.
A Yorke cross found Giggs unmarked in the Italian area - but the Welshman
headed wide of the post.
It was all one-way traffic from United and Inter's first chance arrived
with 55 minutes on the clock.
A good break from Fabio Galante found Zamorano clear with only Schmeichal
to beat - but the Dane stood his ground to deny Inter a much needed opener.
Despite the brief respite, however, United were rampant.
Yorke: An unstoppable force for United
Yorke and Cole made a number of useful breaks - with the England striker
denied only by a desperate lunge from Winter in front of an open goal.
But if United thought they could have it all their own way - they were wrong.
Baggio soon began to find more space, winning a corner for the Italians
from which Simeone converted with a stunning diving header.
But Inter were called back for pushing by referee Helmut Krug.
It was a dangerous period for United - but it did not last long. Cole,
Yorke, Beckham and Giggs all looked dangerous and continually asked
questions of the Inter defence.
The visitors failed to give up, however, and were unlucky not to find the
all-important away goal in the final minutes.
Nicola Ventol - brought on for Zamorano in the 66th minute - was denied by
Schmeichel, before Henning Berg cleared off the line to hand United a clean
sheet as they move into the second leg.
Teams:
Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Johnsen, Stam, Irwin, Beckham, Keane,
Scholes, Giggs, Yorke, Cole. Subs: Raimond Van Der Gouw, Butt, P. Neville,
Blomqvist, Solskjaer, Berg, Brown.
Inter Milan: Pagliuca, Galante, Bergomi, Colonnese, Zanetti, Cauet,
Simeone, Winter, Djorkaeff, Zamorano, Baggio. Subs: Frey, Ventola,
Ze'Elias, West, Pirlo, Milanese, Gilberto.
Referee: Helmut Krug (Germany)
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Subject: Two-goal Yorke leads United towards semifinals
MANCHESTER, England, March 3 - Manchester United took a step towards the
semifinals of the European Cup when two headed goals from Dwight Yorke gave
them a 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the first leg of their quarter-final on
Wednesday.
United, who have never eliminated an Italian club from European
competition, had the better of a match played at a frenetic pace for 90
minutes and should have won by a far bigger margin.
Inter still have a chance of saving the tie in the second leg in Milan in
two weeks but will have to show a huge improvement after being caught out
by Yorke after seven and 45 minutes. Both goals were created by accurate
right-wing crosses from David Beckham.
United had a lucky escape after 66 minutes when Diego Simeone headed the
ball into the net from a corner but German referee Hellmut Krug had already
blown for a foul by a team mate.
United keeper Peter Schmeichel made one outstanding save to prevent Ivan
Zamorano scoring with a diving header after 49 minutes and substitute
Henning Berg blocked a shot from Francesco Collonese on the line in injury
time of a match shown live in more than 100 countries across the world.
************************************
Manchester United 2 Inter Milan 0 - result
MANCHESTER, England, March 3 - Manchester United (England) beat Inter
Milan (Italy) 2-0 in their European Cup quarter-final first leg match at
Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Scorer: Dwight Yorke 6, 45
Halftime: 2-0; Attendance: 54,430
Teams:
Manchester United: 1-Peter Schmeichel; 2-Gary Neville, 5-Ronny Johnsen
(21-Henning Berg 46), 6-Jaap Stam, 3-Denis Irwin; 7-David Beckham, 16-Roy
Keane, 18-Paul Scholes (Nicky Butt 69), 11-Ryan Giggs; 19-Dwight Yorke,
9-Andy Cole
Inter Milan: 1-Gianluca Pagliuca; 5-Fabio Galante, 2-Giuseppe Bergomi,
3-Francesco Colonnese; 4-Javier Zanetti, 15-Benoit Cauet, 14-Diego Simeone,
8-Aron Winter; 6-Youri Djorkaeff, 18-Ivan Zamorano (Nicola Ventola 68),
10-Roberto Baggio (21-Andrea Pirlo 79).
Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Subject: United - Inter by Terry
What a great result. I think we can be quietly confident about the
return leg in Milan, given our gift to score goals and the fact that we
didn't concede one tonight ... but it was close during those last 10
minutes. I think I was sweating more than the players.
BECKS did his worldwide reputation no harm at all tonight with some
brilliant crossing and passing, the usual 200% dedication, and an
excellent temperament throughout the 90 minutes. How fitting it was that
it was SIMEONE's 'goal' that was disallowed! The ref was right: on the
replays Berg was clearly being dragged away from Simeone by the
senescent Bergomi. I have to add, though, that up to that point I was a
bit suspicious of the German referee. He booked Cole, Dennnis and
Scholes for nothing, and allowed Inter to hack us down with impunity.
But spotting Bergomi's foul on Berg more than made up for it. Why should
the ref want to penalize us for innocuous fouls? Well, it'll help out
Bayern in the semis if we lose some players. Same ol' Krauts, always
cheating.
Apart from Becks, who else impressed? Oh yes, the GREAT DANE! How many
times did he save us tonight? I can recall at least three one-on-one
saves, including the one-handed save against Zamorano's header and his
outstretched foot in the last few minutes. Can we ever replace him?
Well, we seem to have found a replacement for Eric. YORKIE just gets
better and better, and not just scoring goals. He looks a class act
every time he's on the ball. And JAAP too was his usual solid self. When
I spotted Berg on at the start of the second half, I was praying he
wasn't on for an injured Jaapy. Berg did a good job, too, and his
clearance off the line in the last minute could turn out to be one of
the most significant events of this quarter final. I would have been a
bit nervous going to Milan with a flimsy 2-1 lead, but 2-0 is pretty
comfortable, especially when you consider our ability to score away from
home in the CL this season.
Those four were my men of the match (impossible to choose only one), but
KEANO and ANDY come close as well. GIGGSY had flashes of genius, but his
shooting and heading let him down on occasion. DENNNIS was as reliable
as ever, and BERG and RONALDO JOHNSEN each played a good half. GAZZA
Neville supported Becks well and didn't put a foot wrong the whole game.
Finally, SCHOLESIE deserves a special mention for his first half
performance. It's a pity Fergie took him off for BUTT as NIcky didn't
really get much of a grip in midfield and, in fact, we looked slightly
more vulnerable after he came on.
So a good solid performance. We clearly tired in the last 10 minutes,
and no bloody wonder after the effort that was put in. If they had the
strength to play like that every week we'd have the PL championship tied
up by Christmas every year. Anyway, they can now have a nice, long
well-deserved rest till ... oh shit ... till Sunday when it's the
quarters of the FA Cup. There's no rest for the wicked, and none for
heroes either.
Proud to be Red.
_____________
Terry
Saudi
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Subject: Inter thoughts by Boon Wee
Allo all,
Match reports and pictures ..
http://members.xoom.com/heathens/mufc.html
but now, my thoughts..
What a good start to a tough month ahead, a classic game it was not. It was
a game which showed that United had thoroughly learned from their previous
Euro lessons. It was a game which showed how disciplined and matured they were.
Ronaldo or no Ronaldo, that was the question. It was the latter, though I
would suspect if he could perform magic for Inter when Baggio and Zamorano
could not. All my fears did not come through (nearly though but later), the
much hype about clash between Simeone and Beckham did not materialized.
They both shook hands before the game, much to the amusement of Scholes who
was next to Beckham then.
Neither did United concede an early goal, Inter did. The game began in a
frenzy with Scholes tackling Cauet seconds after kickoff. Soon after,
Beckham's free kick flew over the bar after Scholes was mishandled outside
the box. Then came the moment everybody (except those from Italy) were
waiting for. Bergomi could not clear a cross and the ball reached Beckham.
His delicate cross was met by Yorke who made no mistake and beat Pagliuca
with a glancing header. Old Trafford exploded, I clenched my fist and
screamed silently (it's 3:51am here and everyone is asleep). But I've seen
too many cases where an early goal might not be a good omen. The screaming
stopped almost immediately when Simeone tried a shot to which Schmeichel
stopped. All the actions and it was only 7 minutes old.
Krug the German referee was not in everyone's invited list when some of his
decisions (all against United of course) were dubious. Inter players fell
at the slightest touch and Krug often gave Inter then benefit of the doubt.
However, he did redeem himself in the second half when a Simeone diving
header was overruled. It was a perfect header but Berg was fouled America
Football style by someone prior to that. For once, I cheered at the ref,
silently of course.
Schmeichel had a good game even though he was rather edgy in the beginning.
Smikes could not handle some of the back passes (to be fair, some passes
were made under pressure) and on several occasions, Simeone or Zamorano
could have stolen the ball from the big Dane. The United players keep
sending the ball back to him though, supposed that helped as Smikes'
handling got better as the game moved on.
Both Keane and Irwin got booked in the first half, Keane for unknown
reasons (to me i.e) and Irwin for tackling from behind. Cole had a couple
of occasions to join his partner on the score sheet but it was to be proved
that it was not his night. His shots were either wide or cleared off the
line. He just could not score, his contribution to the game, however,
cannot be discounted. He was hardworking and he distributes the ball well.
Inter had a couple of long range shots but none of them went past Smikes,
ref gave 1 minutes of injury time and it was then when United secured the
match. Again, it was the Beckham and Yorke combination which brought
United's second goal. Beckham sent in a fierce cross (the kind which will
make any keeper decide if he should go for it cross) and Yorke rose like a
spring and headed in his second goal. Yorkie Yorkie what a player. I was
most settled after that.
The second half began with United running Inter all over. Giggs headed wide
30 seconds after the restart. Then United were given a scare when
Djorkaeff's deep cross was met by a flying Zamorano. His header seems to be
going in but the Dane stretched his fingers and blocked the ball, what a
reflex save! It was a clear warning though. The match was far from ending.
After that, Giggs, Gary Nev, Cole, Beckham and Butt all tried to increase
United's tally but all shots went wide. Next came that Simeone disallowed
goal. United were hanging on.
Zamorano and Baggio were taken off soon after. Baggio did not contribute
much to the game, his free kicks were ineffective and his passes were
seldom accurate. In came Ventola and Pirlo. Significantly, it was during
this period when Inter began to take some initiative from United. Djorkaeff
began to dominate the midfield and Ventola troubled the defence more than
Zamorano did when he was on. At one stage, Ventola broke free of United's
defence and seemed to be on his way to score, Smikes saved a certain goal.
It was so late into the game and it would be disastrous if Inter pulled one
back. There's time for one more scare, Ventola (again) managed to beat the
defence but not Smikes, the Dane's save rebounded to Colonese. He had an
empty net to aim at, he did but Berg (who replaced Johnsen after half time)
saved the world on the line. It was a very important clearance. 2-1 at San
Siro might not be something to cheer about. And after 3 minutes of added on
time, Krug blew his whistle for the final time and my heartbeat began to
slow down. Final score, 2-0.
Man of the match is torn between Yorke and Stam (how many times did this
happen this season?). Apart from scoring both goals, Yorke could do no
wrong with his first touches and his distribution. He was quite a handful.
Stam was very commanding at the back. He handled Zamorano like a kid and
was faultless throughout the match. Heart says Yorke but mind says Stam.
Without Stam (and Berg and Schmeichel), United would not have a 2-0 cushion
to bring to Italy.
There's still one more leg to go, it would be easy to celebrate now but we
all know there's hard work ahead. At least for now, I can sleep soundly.
Chelsea is next and it should be another smashing game. Anyone dare to
dream of a United and Arsenal semi-final? Not me. I would prefer United Vs
Huddersfield.
Cheers.
Boon Wee
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Subject: STRIKER STEALS THE SHOW ON A NIGHT OF HEROES AT OLD TRAFFORD
DWIGHT YORKE turned in a European masterclass as Manchester United took a
giant stride towards the semi-finals of the Champions League. The former Aston
Villa striker was in sensational form as he confirmed his status as one of the
best forwards in world football today.
There were plenty of eyebrows raised when Alex Ferguson sanctioned the £12.6m deal
which took the Trinidad & Tobago international north to Old Trafford just one
game into the season in August, particularly after the United chief had been linked with
big-money moves for players like Batistuta, Kluivert and Salas. But on last night's
evidence, he got the best possible deal. Not only does Yorke now rightly deserve to be
talked about in the same class as that formidable trio, but if he continues in the
form he showed last night he will also pay off his entire transfer fee in just nine
months.
It is impossible to gauge the value of a commercial transaction until some time after
it has been completed, but there is little doubt that the Yorke transfer deal could
become self-financing. The 27-year-old tormented Inter's defenders all night long
and his two goals were merely the crowning glory of a devastating display in the art of
striking. If he can reproduce that on the nights when it counts over the next three
months, United have every chance of being crowned as kings of Europe. And if that
happens, Yorke will have repaid the whole £12.6m - and probably more - at a stroke
because United, already widely regarded as the biggest club in the world, will move even
further ahead of their rivals in the global money-making game, with the
possibilities for lucrative spin-offs seemingly endless.
However, although Yorke's display was the most eye-catching and
will attract the headlines, the contributions of his teammates should
not be overlooked on a night of collective glory for United. Peter
Schmeichel proved, with two sensational second-half saves in
particular, that he is far from finished at the highest level, while
David Beckham and Ryan Giggs were a constant danger on either
flank.
Captain Roy Keane led, as you would expect, by example from the
middle of the park and there was also a starring role for Jaap Stam.
The big Dutchman was being written off not long after his £10.75m
move from PSV Eindhoven - a world record fee for a defender - but
he has proved his critics wrong with a string of great displays, none
better than last night when he stood firm in the face of, at times,
great pressure.
Ferguson was delighted with his side and is confident they will
complete the job in Italy. "We'll score over there," he predicted. "It
was a good performances from us, although they had one or two
chances which worried me and we'll look at how that happened. But
it was a good result for us and a good performance." But on a night
of heroes, it was, undoubtedly, Yorke's star which shone brightest.
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Subject: ALL DWIGHT ON THE NIGHT
Two Goals For Yorke Take United To Brink Of The Semi-Finals
MANCHESTER UNITED 2 INTER MILAN 0
Dwight Yorke turned on the style at Old Trafford to inspire
Manchester United to a superb 2-0 win. The former Aston Villa
striker was in breathtaking form as his double gave Alex Ferguson's
side a more than useful lead to take to Italy for the second leg of
this Champions Cup quarter-final in a fortnight's time.
The Trinidad & Tobago ace converted two first-half David Beckham
crosses with precise headers to take his season's tally to 24, and
take Ferguson one step nearer his holy grail of the European Cup.
They now have the platform to go on and reach the semi-finals for
the second time in three years if they can repeat last night's
performance in the San Siro.
United made a dream start when they took the lead after just six
minutes. Beckham had already sent a 25-yard free-kick skidding a
couple of feet over the bar when he delivered a superb ball into the
heart of the Italians' defence. Incredibly, Yorke found himself all on
his own just eight yards from goal and he had the simple task of
guiding his header wide off the helpless Gianluca Pagliuca.
It was just what manager Alex Ferguson would have wanted having
seen his side concede early goals in big European matches at Old
Trafford against the likes of Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and
Monaco in recent years. This time, though, they were fastest out of
the traps, although they were given a warning that they wouldn't
enjoy things all their own way just a minute after Yorke's opener
when Diego Simeone - whose every touch was met with a chorus of
boos in the opening 20 minutes - sent a 25-yard drive narrowly
wide.
Beckham and Yorke almost repeated the trick in the 11th minute
when the same pair combined in almost identical fashion, but on this
occasion Yorke's header was wide of the mark. Inter, for all their
confident possession, were being restricted to long-range efforts
and twice in the first half Peter Schmeichel dealt easily with shots
from Javier Zanetti.
Beckham was involved in everything good for United, although the
crowd must have held their breath when the midfielder went in for a
full-blooded 50-50 challenge with his old enemy, Simeone, close to
the right touchline. The United star won the ball cleanly, to a cheer
almost as loud as the one which greeted Yorke's early goal.
There were bookings for Roy Keane and Ivan Zamorano, who got
involved in a midfield tangle in the 26th minute, and also for Denis
Irwin, who was harshly judged to have fouled Youri Djorkaeff when
he appeared to win the ball cleanly. But although United were
becoming slightly frustrated with some of the Italians' tactics, their
mood was hugely lifted on the stroke of half-time.
Yet again, Beckham was at the centre of the action as he collected
Gary Neville's short pass and whipped in a delicious cross towards
the near post where Yorke left his markers in his wake to head
home his second goal of the game and give the home side a crucial
two-goal cushion at the interval.
Incredibly, United had a gilt-edged opportunity to make it 3-0 - and
possibly kill off the entire tie - just a minute after the re-start. A
delightful twist and turn by Yorke took him past two Inter
challenges and his deep cross picked out Giggs all on his own at the
far post. Unfortunately, the Welshman got his header all wrong and
steered it well wide of the post.
And Ferguson's side were given a reminder that they could ill-afford
such profligacy just a couple of minutes later when Fabio Galante's
cross found Zamorano unmarked at the far post in an even better
position than Giggs had been, but his header was met by a
sensational, instinctive one-handed save by Schmeichel.
By now the game had opened up into more of the free flowing
contest the fans had been hoping for and Beckham produced
another telling ball into the centre, this time from a corner, which
Jaap Stam headed wide. But in the 55th minute United, and Andy
Cole in particular, must have thought the tie was won. More
breathtaking skill from Yorke took him away from a clutch of
defenders and when he drove the ball across goal, all Cole had to
do was stab it home from four yards. He connected well enough but
his shot cannoned back off Aron Winter's legs and away to safety
as he prepared to celebrate.
United had a let-off in the 63rd minute when Simeone felt he had
pulled a goal back. Baggio's corner was met powerfully by the
strong Argentine but referee Helmut Krug had already blown for a
foul elsewhere in the penalty area. Inter made a switch in the 67th
minute when Nicola Ventola replaced Zamorano, and just a minute
later Paul Scholes made way for Nicky Butt.
United continued to press and Giggs forced Pagliuca into a fine save
with a swerving 20-yard drive in the 77th minute, and Beckham and
Cole almost carved out another goal four minutes from time. The
midfielder picked out his striking colleague with an inch-perfect pass
and, when he got to the by-line, his cross was half stopped by
Pagliuca and then hacked clear by Galante from almost on his own
goal-line.
But within seconds, United's great work was almost undone when
substitute Ventola broke clear only to be denied by Schmeichel with
his feet. And a minute into stoppage time, the big Dane made
another great save from the same player before Henning Berg - on
at half-time for the injured Ronny Johnsen - completed the heroics
with a brilliant goal-line clearance from Francesco Colonnese from
the rebound.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND-UP
Predrag Mijatovic rescued a 1-1 draw for holders Real Madrid, but
John Toshack's side face a daunting second leg trip to play
Dynamo Kiev, who topped Arsenal's qualifying group earlier in the
season, as they aim for a place in the last four. The Yugoslav
striker, who scored the only goal as the Spanish giants beat
Juventus in the final last May, hit the equaliser from a free-kick only
11 minutes after brilliant Ukrainian Andrei Shevchenko had put the
visitors ahead. Shevchenko had already scored three goals in the
Champions League but this strike was the most important. The
striker showed superb control before clipping the opener past Bodo
Illgner after 55 minutes.
Bayern Munich weathered a strong opening by Bundesliga
colleagues Kaiserslautern but came away easy 2-0 winners in the
all-German quarter-final. Kaiserslautern, the reigning Bundesliga
champions, hit the bar from a Martin Wagner free-kick in the 18th
minute but, against the run of play, Bayern shocked their opponents
with two sudden goals. Lothar Matthaus sent in a left-footed cross
to Brazil's Giovane Elber in the 31st minute and Stefan Effenberg
finished off a long, defence splitting pass from midfielder Thomas
Strunz in the 35th minute. The result was put beyond doubt in the
70th minute when Kaiserslautern defender Hani Ramzy was sent off
for his second bookable offence.
Last year's beaten finalists, Juventus, looked to be heading for a
comfortable 2-0 win of their own against Olympiakos of Greece,
after goals from Filippo Inzaghi and Antonio Conte had put the
Italians in control. But the home crowd was stunned in the last
minute when Andreas Niniadis pulled a goal back for the Greeks to
give them real hope of causing an upset in a fortnight's time.
Beckham thanks Simone! [click pic for match reports]
Pic Link today is http://www.red11.org/miva/matchreports.mv
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