Yorke gives United a cushion

Manchester United's European crusade is still buoyant after a night of deep passion had yielded their most coveted win of the season in the opening instalment of their Champions League quarter-final at Old Trafford.

Two first-half strikes by Dwight Yorke leave them in robust shape and Inter Milan with some urgent problems to solve in the return game at San Siro in a fortnight's time.

Yorke will reflect with some incredulity that he scarcely had to leave the ground to head two of the most crucial goals of his career and in a sense it said it all about the poverty of an Italian defence which was at times embarrassing.

Those who have monitored Inter's troubled season with some disbelief had the source of their decline identified in a threadbare performance which held little of the sophistication of more rewarding days for the club.

Only the pace and perception of the passing conformed to pedigree in a hugely disappointing performance, and the spectacle of Roberto Baggio making the long forlorn walk to the dugout to be replaced by Andrea Pirlo 11 minutes from the end said it all.

In those circumstances United never had to be brilliant to survive and for long tracts of a first half in which frenzy outstripped fluency they weren't. But, fortunately for the 55,000 crowd baying for success, they got it right at the start and end of the half.

The game was only six minutes old when David Beckham, with enough time and space to autograph the ball, crossed precisely from the right and Yorke came across Giuseppe Bergomi to deliver a glancing header to the net.

In that moment Beckham must have known that revenge for his infamous tangle with Diego Simeone in St Etienne last summer was at hand. Inter, unable or unwilling to close on Beckham, conceded the left flank of their defence by default and in the 45th minute he delivered Yorke's second goal on the proverbial plate.

Yorke who had started the move by winning a vital aerial duel with Fabio Galante, moved into the sixyard area for the return ball and the finish was equally clinical as he directed the header wide of Gianluca Pagliuca.

Those were the moments of refined skill which served merely to emphasise the barren football in between. United's predictable strategy was to inject pace into the game from the kick-off. Less readily understood was Inter's decision to attempt to take them on at their own game.

If manager Mircea Lucescu, a sombre fretful figure at the head of Inter's think tank, expected Simeone and Benoit Cauet to impose some semblance of discipline in midfield, it was a lost cause. On those occasions when the ball was at their feet, they were as artful as ever but too often they allowed themselves to be sucked into a physical battle they were never going to win.

That suited Roy Keane and the Irishman, revelling in the adulation of his fans, was often quite magnificent until his legs and the sheer pace of the game eventually reduced his influence in the closing 15 minutes.

The downside on an otherwise superb performance came in the 29th minute when his discipline deserted him and he allowed himself to be dragged into a verbal confrontation with Ivan Zamorano which led to both being booked by the German referee, Helmut Krug.

More surprising, perhaps, was Denis Irwin's awkward tackle which left Javier Zanetti in an untidy bundle and warranted yet another card from Krug.

Irwin, like Keane, was seldom less than admirable but the real heroes at the back for United were Jaap Stam and Peter Schmeichel. This was the night when Stam looked the world-class defender who persuaded Alex Ferguson to invest heavily after the World Cup finals.

And if Schmeichel's fly-kicking of the ball remains as erratic as ever, he produced two priceless saves in the dying minutes when history again threatened to undo United. Twice in rapid succession be denied Nicola Ventola and Francesco Colonnese and when Colonnese pounced on the rebound, Henning Berg was perfectly placed to make the goal-line clearance.

A goal then would have put a vastly different perspective on United's task in the return game. But this was a night when they rode their luck and came away with a win which may well have smoothed the way to a place in the semi-finals.

In San Siro, no less than here at Old Trafford, they will look to Keane's leadership, Stam's unbending defiance and, not least, Yorke's ability to cash in on Beckham's return to form to see them safely home to port.

For Inter, down on their luck and running dangerously low in confidence, the hope must be that Ronaldo somehow overcomes his fitness problems to bring new life to a jaded team. Just now, that looks a forlorn hope.

Manchester Utd: Schmeichel, G Neville, Johnsen (Berg 45), Stam, Irwin, Beckham, Keane, Scholes (Butt 68), Giggs, Yorke, Cole. Subs Not Used: Raimond Van Der Gouw, P Neville, Blomqvist, Solskjaer, Brown. Booked: Keane, Irwin, Scholes. Goals: Yorke 6, 45.

Inter Milan: Pagliuca, Galante, Bergomi, Colonnese, Zanetti, Cauet, Simeone, Winter, Djorkaeff, Zamorano (Ventola 68), Baggio (Pirlo 78). Subs Not Used: Frey, Ze'Elias, West, Milanese, Gilberto. Booked: Zamorano, Winter.

Referee: Helmut Krug (Germany).