United's early dominance fades

SOCCER/Inter Milan 0 Man Utd 0:IT IS a mark of Manchester United's expectations that they will be irked neither to have won nor even scored at San Siro. A record for the Champions League of 20 consecutive games undefeated will have scant relevance for them.

Esteban Cambiasso might even have forced home a corner eight minutes from the end to give Internazionale victory. Alex Ferguson will be exasperated the game – and with it, the tie – was not won before the interval against an adversary who will have great hopes for the return.

Jose Mourinho had predicted United would not meet his team “eye to eye”. He was right – and Ferguson had certainly taken a tangential view of the fixture. Wayne Rooney was a substitutes, with the manager putting the emphasis on out-and-out midfielders. Mourinho’s view was vindicated.

United opened by demonstrating why they were unbeaten in so many European fixtures. There was an ease to the domination they relished at the start of the game. Inter were tentative initially. By the second minute, Cristiano Ronaldo had already enjoyed his first opportunity from a free-kick. Having been brought down by Christian Chivu, the Portuguese allowed Julio Cesar a surprisingly simple save.

Ronaldo then connected with a Ryan Giggs corner for a header that the goalkeeper reached to his left. Before long Ronaldo and the Welshman had further efforts as each let fly at set-pieces.

The domination verged on the outlandish. Dimitar Berbatov missed with a header from a Patrice Evra delivery. Soon the severity of the test rose for Cesar when Giggs turned away from Nelson Rivas on the left and strode into the area for a drive that the Brazilian goalkeeper blocked. In the space of a minute Ronaldo would call for another save by Cesar from a 30-yard free-kick and then head a ball from Giggs off target. At that juncture, the much discussed problems the visitors might have had assembling a back four were forgotten. United must have been relatively satisfied with their state of readiness. John O’Shea and, more surprisingly, Jonny Evans were fit to play. The defence, in the absence of the suspended Nemanja Vidic, was little more disrupted than that of Inter, who were without Walter Samuel.

The disquiet affecting United as half-time approached lay merely in the lack of a lead. It is always ominous when a team does not exploit its superiority. Discomfort is severe when the opposition are under the management of Mourinho. He does have a habit of winning long and frustrating matches and he had forseen this tie going to extra-time at Old Trafford.

In the 10 minutes before the interval, Inter made a little more of an impression. If it had been worrisome to be outmanoeuvred by the visitors, they still had the reassurance of knowing that they had coped and come to no harm.

Mourinho and his staff came to life after 43 minutes, erupting in protest when a foul was given against right-back Maicon. The referee, Juan Medina Cantalejo, cautioned reserve goalkeeper Francesco Toldo. United could afford to be serene. The five men employed in two midfield layers had outnumbered Inter as well as outperformed them.

Heretical as it is to suggest such a thing of Mourinho, the use of two outright forwards in Adriano and Zlatan Ibrahimovic looked a mistake when there was little service from midfield. Of course, Mourinho may have felt Inter, having survived, were bound to be encouraged. The manager replaced one of his centre-halves, Rivas, with Ivan Cordoba for the second half, but it was not his defence that came under scrutiny. For the first time, United looked as if they could be in jeopardy.

Cambiasso flighted a cross from the left that Ibrahimovic dummied, only for Adriano to misconnect with his finish. In the 49th minute the Brazil striker then went down in the goalmouth, but while Rio Ferdinand had touched him that hardly accounted for him crashing to the turf.

Inter were now a far greater presence. Mourinho’s powers of organisation and motivation at the interval are clearly not on the wane. His side must have been encouraged to impose themselves more forcefully, even if this led to cautions for Christian Chivu and Maicon. United had to adopt more of a counter-attacking approach. Their opponents had started to see possibilities. The physical strength of Inter was being demonstrated in a tie, straightforward at the beginning of the night, that had turned enigmatic.

Guardian Service

INTER MILAN: Julio Cesar, Maicon, Rivas (Cordoba 46), Chivu, Santon, Zanetti, Cambiasso, Muntari (Cruz 76), Stankovic, Ibrahimovic, Adriano (Balotelli 77). Subs not used: Toldo, Maxwell, Figo, Burdisso. Booked: Toldo, Chivu, Maicon, Cordoba.

MANCHESTER UTD: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs, Park (Rooney 83), Berbatov, Ronaldo. Subs not used: Foster, Nani, Scholes, Fabio Da Silva, Gibson, Tevez. Booked: Fletcher, Rooney.

Referee: Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain).