Manchester United - 2 Bayer leverkusen - 0 If there is one player at Old Trafford with something to prove after Saturday's trauma at Manchester City, it should be Juan Sebastian Veron rather than Gary Neville, the resident scapegoat. Neville found himself out of the team last night, even if publishing deadlines meant he appeared on the programme cover with the rather inappropriate headline, "Neville Worship."
Veron, meanwhile, responded to Alex Ferguson's febrile criticism with a splendid goal to help assure Manchester United winning their group.
Yet again the thought occurs of how such a talented player can lurch so unpredictably between beguiling and bewildering football, but Veron's contribution - he was also heavily involved in Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal - should, at the very least, earn him some respite from the critics who have been queuing to question his commitment. Until the next time, anyway.
The benefit of finishing top will be gauged only after tomorrow's draw in Geneva, but it earns a guarantee of having to face only one of the other seven group winners, a formidable list incorporating, among others, Real Madrid, Internazionale and Valencia.
Last night Klaus Toppmoller had left six first-team players in Germany, apparently conceding any hope of establishing the two-goal winning margin that would have seen them win Group F. And Ferguson reacted to Saturday's defeat by making four alterations.
The all-important question, one he was naturally not willing to answer, was whether Fabien Barthez, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the Neville brothers were rested or dropped.
Either way, United's defensive frailties were exposed yet again, with 16 minutes gone, when Dimitar Berbatov's smart pass dissected Rio Ferdinand and Laurent Blanc for Thomas Brdaric to run clear, holding off Mickael Silvestre and twisting past Ricardo Lopez before being taken down by the goalkeeper for a clear penalty.
But Jan Simak hoofed the spot-kick well over the bar.
While continually looking uncomfortable in defence, United's response was impressive. Silvestre flicked a post from David Beckham's free-kick and, three minutes before the break, their pressure paid off when Ruud van Nistelrooy teed up Veron for an elegant shot, expertly placing the ball in the bottom right-hand corner of Hans-Jorg Butt's net for his fourth European goal in seven games.
A number of Veron's passes went astray, but he was influential in concocting Van Nistelrooy's goal, quickening the pace of an ambling move with a crisp ball into Paul Scholes that was nudged beyond a static defence to leave the Dutchman clear. With Butt hopelessly exposed, Van Nistelrooy's finish was a formality.
Now United will hope they get the luck of the draw.
MANCHESTER UTD: Ricardo, O'Shea, Blanc (Gary Neville 77), Ferdinand, Silvestre, Beckham (Solskjaer 77), Veron, Fortune, Giggs (Chadwick 81), Scholes, van Nistelrooy. Subs Not Used: Carroll, Phil Neville, Forlan, Nardiello. Booked: Ricardo. Goals: Veron 42, van Nistelrooy 69.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN: Butt, Zivkovic, Kleine, Ramelow, Sebescen, Balitsch (Preuss 81), Babic, Simak, Bierofka (Dogan 78), Berbatov (Franca 62), Brdaric. Subs Not Used: Juric, Dzaka, Bozic, El Kasmi. Booked: Kleine, Simak, Sebescen.
Referee: Vladimir Hrinak (Slovakia).
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