Manchester United - 0 Bolton Wanderers - 1 Manchester United's season is already descending into a familiar game of catch-up. Deprived of some of their key players and seemingly devoid of inspiration, their vulnerability was exposed last night by a Bolton side that clearly thinks nothing of reputations.
Kevin Nolan's second-half goal condemned Alex Ferguson's side to their first Premiership defeat of the season and, as well as league points, the United manager will also be reflecting on lost morale this morning. Long before the final whistle, the dissenters within Old Trafford were making their feelings clear.
Sam Allardyce's willing but limited side concocted one of the Premiership's more memorable results with their 2-1 victory here last season, the first time since 1992 that United had lost a home match in which they had taken the lead, and the Bolton manager confessed this week that, in troubled times, he still shows his players the video to remind them that they do belong in such exalted company.
There was another airing on the eve of this match and, as a psychological trick, the wily Allardyce should be congratulated for putting his players at ease.
Certainly there was no hint of trepidation during a frenetic opening period that began with United threatening to overwhelm their opponents but ended in Bolton playing with enough self-belief to threaten the upset that eventually materialised.
The visitors had two inviting chances to take the lead before United had created their first serious opportunity.
Fabien Barthez, passed fit despite still being troubled by a persistent hip injury, produced an outstanding save low to his left to keep out Henrik Pedersen's shot after the Dane had latched on to an exquisite back-heel from Michael Ricketts.
Then Anthony Barness, the wrong player in the right place, harmlessly wafted a shot over the bar after Mikael Silvestre had allowed him too much space on the perimeter of the penalty area.
By this stage Old Trafford was already beginning to get a little jumpy.
Ferguson's players had begun brightly, playing with a tempo that was rarely seen in their two previous Premiership matches at Old Trafford, against Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion, but their passing was not of its usual standard and, apart from an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer header that Jussi Jaaskelainen tipped over, there was little by way of penetration throughout the opening exchanges.
The tension was not eased just before the interval when Juan Sebastian Veron, the usual mix of the beguiling and the bewildering, slipped a measured ball through Bolton's defence for Van Nistelrooy to scamper clear.
The Dutchman beat Jaaskelainen with a shot that was still rising as it hit the underside of the bar, before bouncing down and out.
The unmistakable whiff of controversy descended but, without a Russian linesman, the referee Graham Barber was unimpressed with Van Nistelrooy's claims that it had crossed the line and, suitably relieved, Bolton could trot down the tunnel at half-time reflecting on a positive start.
Deprived of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, to name but two, United's play was determined yet disjointed, continuing to frustrate their supporters, failing to construct the sort of fluid passing moves for which their title rivals Arsenal have become renowned.
Ferguson will have been particularly concerned with the problems that Ricketts was causing to his defence and to Laurent Blanc, in particular.
Neither will it have escaped his attention that, not for the first time this season, Ryan Giggs went AWOL while David Beckham faded badly after a promising start.
It was Beckham, indeed, who was culpable for the game's decisive moment, miscontrolling the ball off his chest and presenting Nolan with a shooting opportunity.
The young Liverpudlian also scored here last season and his diagonal shot, just inside Barthez's right-hand post, left Old Trafford consumed with deja vu. No wonder Bolton are the only club in Britain who have won more games against United than they have lost.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Barthez, Phil Neville, Blanc, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Beckham, Butt, Veron (Forlan 76), Giggs, Solskjaer, van Nistelrooy. Subs not used: Ricardo, Stewart, O'Shea, Chadwick. Booked: Phil Neville.
BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Barness, Bergsson, Whitlow, Charlton, Djorkaeff (Warhurst 73), Frandsen (Dean Holdsworth 87), Nolan, Gardner, Pedersen (Campo 90), Ricketts. Subs not used: Poole, Walters. Booked: Nolan, Dean Holdsworth. Goals: Nolan 76.
Referee: G Barber (Hertfordshire).
