Black night as United crash
It began with an eagle flying over the Stadium of Light and ended with the vultures circling.
The result means United have failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time in 10 years and will not even enter the UEFA Cup after finishing bottom of their group.
Given that they are also 10 points behind Chelsea in the Premiership and have only a banana-skin FA Cup tie at non-league Burton to look forward to, manager Alex Ferguson is facing perhaps the biggest crisis of his managerial career.
With talismanic captain Roy Keane gone and sponsors Vodafone on their way out, too, the financial implications of a European exit are glaringly obvious and this will be remembered as a black night in United’s battle to recreate the glory days of the 1990s.
The manner of their collapse was painful and, as the inquests begin, the calls for Ferguson to step down are likely to reach fever pitch.
The pundits will no doubt say that last night’s match against an energetic but inexperienced Benfica side was one the United of old would have relished and won. But you have to wonder if the current breed, despite the outstanding talent of Rooney and van Nistelrooy, are capable of living up to that level of expectation.
Benfica, finally rediscovering their own glory days, have a pre-match tradition of flying an eagle over the stadium with red ribbons tied to its wings. And by the end of the match it was the Portuguese who were flying high while the vultures of doom prepared to make a swoop of their own on the crestfallen losers.
Goodness knows what Manchester United’s vociferous critics will make of this performance, but there are certain to be suggestions that the days of Old Trafford dominance are fading fast and, who knows, suggestions that big changes need to be made to put things right.
The truth is that despite taking an early lead through Paul Scholes it was a frustrating performance from Ferguson’s men, who couldn’t cope with Benfica’s exuberance on the break and only went full pelt to save the tie in the final 25 minutes.
Perhaps what’s most frustrating for England’s only team not to reach the last 16 is they threw victory away, having been ahead after only six minutes.
Ryan Giggs chipped a fine ball out to the right, where newly-crowned captain Gary Neville strode forward before delivering a perfect low cross for Paul Scholes to bundle home at the far post.
Scholes, who only broke his six-month goal drought last weekend, virtually walked the ball into the goal.. But even just one yard over the line it was still the perfect start and should have given United a platform to build on.
Instead, however, they conceded an equaliser within 10 minutes when Geovanni was left completely unmarked to finish past van der Sar with a classic diving header. And suddenly, with the home crowd in full voice, it looked like being a difficult night for the visitors.
It looked even tougher after 34 minutes because Benfica, having dominated possession since scoring, conjured up another superb finish - this time with a flashing 30-yard drive fromBeto that left van der Sar wrong-footed.
United, outmanoeuvred in midfield and shaky at the back, were also extremely fortunate not to concede a first-half penalty and then wasted their chances after the break when Ronaldo side-footed wide following a neat ball from van Nistelrooy.
Rooney, one of the few United players to realise the urgency of the situation, curled a free-kick wide and tried desperately to put things right, but on the ground where George Best famously scored twice in a 5-1 win in 1966 he couldn’t conjure up the same kind of magic.
Instead, Benfica looked dangerous on the break with Geovanni forcing van der Sar into one fine save a and substitute Joao Pereira firing into the side netting when well placed.
With Lille losing in Villarreal all it needed was a famous United equaliser in the dying minutes to save the day, but even with Louis Saha and Park Ji-Sung on to aid the battle it wouldn’t come.
The result means United still haven’t won an away game in the Champions League, save for qualifying matches, for more than two years and leaves their season all but over. The inquests are going to be long and painful.
: Quim, Alcides, Luisao, Anderson, Leo (Ricardo Rocha 90), Nuno Assis (Joao Pereira 73), Petit, Beto, Nelson, Nuno Gomes, Geovanni (Mantorras 80).
: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O’Shea (Richardson 87), Ronaldo (Park 67), Smith, Scholes, Giggs (Saha 60), Rooney, van Nistelrooy.
: Kyros Vassaras (Greece).
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