Fergie’s wish upon a star

Man Utd 2 Lyon 1

Roy Carroll’s horrendous first-half blunder had threatened to spoil Ferguson’s party when he let Mahamadou Diarra’s long-range effort slip through his grasp to level Gary Neville’s early opener.

But, as he has so often in the past, van Nistelrooy pounced, nodding home Rio Ferdinand’s cross to ease United into the last 16 of the tournament Ferguson holds most dear with a game to spare.

At the final whistle the veteran Old Trafford boss declared: “What a fantastic night for me.”

Ferguson said: “All day I was a bit nervous. I was thinking it could all fall a bit flat and we could lose the game.

“I was hoping we would win and the fans were fantastic.

“Last week was a great week for me. The press have portrayed me properly. I don’t think it will last!”

Van Nistelrooy made his tally an astonishing 36 goals in 37 games at this level for United - and his headed goal ended Lyon’s spirited resistance.

Ferguson said: “The man scored again, he is unbelievable. He only had a couple of chances and took up a perfect position to get the goal.

“You have to give Rio Ferdinand some credit in the build-up. He did exceptionally well to get the goal.”

Van Nistelrooy was forced to go off after 71 minutes, however, with a calf strain and could miss the match at West Brom on Saturday.

United opened the scoring through a rare Gary Neville goal, the defender lashing the ball home from close range, taking advantage of a defensive mix-up.

While second only to Raul in all-time Champions League appearances - 95 - this was only Neville’s second goal at this level.

Ferguson admitted he was about to take the England international off as he was suffering from a virus.

“We thought we would give him a minute but then he scores a goal.”

Neville was replaced at the break by Wes Brown after Diarra had pulled Lyon level after a dreadful error by goalkeeper Roy Carroll.

Ferguson refused to condemn his Northern Ireland shot-stopper.

“Roy has been very consistent,” he said. “It can happen, goalkeepers make mistakes.

“I don’t think it unbalanced us. We showed composure and gave a performance of real quality.”

Ferguson was given a bottle of vintage wine by chief executive David Gill in a presentation on the pitch before the game.

That left him in a dilemma after this victory against Lyon.

“I don’t know whether to drink it tonight or in the morning,” he joked. “It is a beautiful gift.”

Ferguson added: “I am proud of my players for the way they presented themselves.

“It was an open game and we could have scored a few more goals. Some of our football was great.

“I am pleased to have won the game as Lyon are difficult opponents.”

Lyon coach Paul Le Guen gave a positive assessment of his team’s performance, despite the defeat.

“We have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said.

“We played some good football and I was pleased with the display considering the number of injuries we’ve had.

“Manchester United deserved to win. The crowd drives them forward and that’s an important factor.

“They have a good mixture of talented individuals and experienced players and they should do well in the tournament.”

MAN UTD: Carroll, Gary Neville (Brown 45), Ferdinand, Silvestre, Heinze, Smith, Keane (Fortune 90), Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney, van Nistelrooy (Fletcher 71).

LYON: Puydebois, Reveillere, Diatta, Cris, Berthold, Diarra, Essien, Juninho, Govou (Wiltord 60), Frau (Bergougnoux 72), Nilmar (Malouda 72).

Referee: Kim Nielsen (Denmark).