Possession not the name of the game

Uefa Champions League: For all their style and command of the football, United didn't have a finishing touch, says Daniel Taylor

There are some games when the scoreline tells a fib. Manchester United paid a considerable price last night for their inability to turn their superiority into the hard currency of goals and their failure to progress to the Champions League knockout phase conjured up an awkward question for Alex Ferguson. These are the type of games in which, not too long ago, Ruud van Nistelrooy would leave an indelible mark. An old debate, but one that has to be recycled after a mind-boggling result given the run of play.

The issue could conceivably have been more to do with their final ball rather than awry finishing. Nonetheless, this was the first time this season that United seem to have missed their record scorer in European competitions. A one-off it may be, but Ferguson will know too that Van Nistelrooy would have snaffled up the chance that fell to Louis Saha, clean through, with six minutes remaining.

Equally, would Van Nistelrooy have missed a last-minute penalty? United's one-touch, pass-and-move-football demoralised their opponents at times, but their lack of penetration inside the penalty area encouraged a crowd that, by Celtic standards, had almost been lulled into tranquillity.

Unless you have been to Celtic Park for one of the big occasions it is difficult to appreciate fully the roar of the crowd. The Celtic fans are more than just watchers. It is in their DNA that their nerves work on football, attuned to every tackle, every decision, every dispute. Their songs begin in the gut and spread like bushfire. Long howls of decades-old yearning and emotion. It batters your eardrums.

The thing it does not do, however, is instil trepidation in a team as sturdy as Manchester United. Great players are inspired by the loudest of dins. They do not feel fear, but a buzz of excitement. United lined up with seen-it-all-before faces and they were straight into their rhythm, working the ball from left to right, behind the full-backs. Four minutes in, Neil Lennon lost possession just outside his area to allow Saha a half-chance and the first collective intake of breath was audible from the vertiginous stands. Suddenly it was the United fans who could be heard.

The gap between the two teams was a chasm. United cherished the ball as though it were made of bone china. Celtic treated it as though it were a medicine ball. It is a horrible feeling being out-passed, especially on your own ground, and Gordon Strachan's men started to look flustered. When they needed composure, they were in a rush. When a simple pass would do, what would normally flow began to congeal.

Uefa's number crunchers were certainly being generous to Celtic when they flashed up the statistics at half-time to purport that the possession had been split 46 per cent to 54 per cent in favour of the visitors. Presumably, the official in charge of the data had a green and white scarf tucked beneath his overcoat.

United have played some duff teams since the Champions League's inception but it is difficult to remember the last occasion they oozed this level of authority in an away tie.

And yet, for all their keep-ball, their intricate triangles and brilliant arrogance, they went in at the interval without having scored. Ferguson was shaking his head in the dugout.

Lee Naylor was a tigerish opponent but he will be relieved he does not have to face a player with Ronaldo's repertoire every weekend. Naylor, incidentally, was one of Celtic's better players. Paul Telfer was another one. These are dependable professionals, but their CVs are hardly awe-inspiring and United must wonder how they lost to such an ordinary side.

That will not bother Celtic captain Neil Lennon. When congratulated on reaching the next round, he replied: "Have we? If we have then it is the best result of my career. Just to beat Manchester United alone is enough. I can't speak highly enough of the players. It means everything to me and a lot to the players. If this means we've gone through, I'm ecstatic."