Barcelona 0 - 0 Man Utd: Ronaldo spurns chance to set United on course

Published on Wednesday 23 April 2008 23:45

CRISTIANO Ronaldo may have been unusually wasteful, but Manchester United are in sight of a place in the Champions League final.

The Portugal winger missed a penalty after only three minutes at the Nou Camp and the chance of giving the side a precious away goal. United were rarely seen as an attacking force after that in last night's first leg of the semi-final, but they will go into the return match at Old Trafford on Tuesday with quiet confidence.

Despite the absence of key defender Nemanja Vidic, who was rushed to hospital with a stomach complaint, they defended resolutely and kept a clean sheet. Vidic had only just returned to the United starting line-up for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Blackburn after injuring his knee in the first leg of the quarter-final clash with Roma, and United looked shaky at times without him.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson made three changes from that side, with goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar and midfielders Owen Hargreaves and Ji-Sung Park all being recalled to the starting line-up. Paul Scholes made his 100th Champions League appearance at the venue where United won the 1999 final, a match Scholes sat out through suspension.

United squandered a great chance of taking the lead after three minutes when Gabriel Milito handled inside the penalty area while shadowing Cristiano Ronaldo. Swiss referee Massimo Busacca had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and waved away protests from Barcelona.

Ronaldo, so prolific this season with 38 goals, stepped up to take the penalty kick, only to see his effort screw wide. The Portugal winger was left holding his head in his hands after missing a golden opportunity of giving United a precious away goal.

Barcelona responded and Lionel Messi picked out Samuel Eto'o in the 13th minute only for Scholes to make a vital interception.

Messi was beginning to shine and Barcelona pressed forward again in the 21st minute and Rafael Marquez got clear of his marker but his header failed to trouble Van der Sar, who was back in the side following a groin injury.

Then Yaya Toure showed good skill for the home side and sent a good cross into the area that was turned away by Van der Sar.

Ronaldo felt he should have had another penalty in the 30th minute when he was bundled over by Marquez after Xavi had carelessly lost possession. However, referee Busacca allowed play to continue.

Barcelona were dictating the tempo at this stage and Eto'o rattled in a shot after 34 minutes but Wes Brown made a vital block, showing little sign of the knock that forced him to train on his own the previous night. Brown was partnering Rio Ferdinand in the heart of defence in the absence of Vidic, with Hargreaves operating at right-back.

Barcelona were spraying the ball around well, however, and won a free kick in the 38th minute. But Deco got little power on his effort and Van der Sar made a comfortable save.

United hit back and Marquez was booked in the 44th minute after tripping Ronaldo as he attempted to surge forward. It rules the Barcelona defender out of the second leg.

Ronaldo dusted himself down but sent his effort from an acute angle wide of the post.

Barcelona were quickly on the offensive at the start of the second half and Messi saw his effort blocked in the 47th minute. Then Van der Sar did well to tip over Gianluca Zambrotta's shot from distance.

United were being forced on the back foot and Eto'o skipped away from Ferdinand and tried to pick out Messi. However Michael Carrick was perfectly positioned and made the clearance.

Eto'o was proving to be a handful and got clear in the 52nd minute after a brilliant flow of one-touch passes from his team-mates, sparked by Messi, but sent his effort into the side-netting.

Messi, who had only recently returned from injury, came off in the 63rd minute and was replaced by Bojan Krkic,

no less a threat than the Argentine, having scored the winner in the quarter-final first leg against Schalke.

United were finding it difficult to set up any attacks, leaving Ronaldo, Rooney and Carlos Tevez fairly isolated up front.

Ferguson made a change in the 76th minute, bringing on Nani for the ineffective Rooney. A minute later former Arsenal favourite Thierry Henry was called into the action by Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard with Deco coming off.

Henry quickly picked up the pace of the game and rattled in a shot after 83 minutes that Van der Sar beat away.

The United goalkeeper then got his body behind an Henry free kick from fully 30 yards as United held out for a creditable draw.

Ferguson says potential match-winner was let down by lack of midfield support

SIR Alex Ferguson claims Manchester United would have beaten Barcelona in last night's Champions League semi-final first leg had Cristiano Ronaldo been given more support by his team-mates.

Despite missing a third-minute penalty, Ronaldo was United's most dangerous player as they drew 0-0 at Camp Nou.

Ferguson said: "In Cristiano Ronaldo, I thought we had a player who could win the match. He was a constant threat and I thought that, with better support, we could have won."

Ferguson felt let down by his side's midfield, saying: "I am bit disappointed in the transition between defence and attack.

"We are normally better at keeping possession of the ball, that causes more concern than any other part of the game."

The United manager also claimed his side surrendered possession too often.

He said: "We will analyse (why we didn't score] in the next two to three days, but we lacked penetration. We were not quick enough out of central areas and when you give the ball away at this level, you have to go back and defend."

Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung were asked to play in unfamiliar roles and Ferguson believes those changes affected his side. "Asking Rooney to play a different position and Park as well obliged us to defend more," he said.

United were also dealt a blow by the absence of centre-back Nemanja Vidic, who missed the game with a stomach infection. But Ferguson believes the Barclays Premier League leaders coped well without the Serbia defender. "Without Vidic, it meant the reshuffle," he explained. "I decided to go with Wes Brown because of experience. It would have been a bit unfair to place the responsibility on Gerard Pique against his old club. (Rio] Ferdinand played well and looked strong throughout the game."

However, the veteran manager claims Paul Scholes – making his 100th Champions League appearance – was United's best player. "Scholes was probably the best player, with confidence and belief in his own ability always there," he said.

Despite his side's subdued performance, Ferguson was satisfied with the result. "When you get the result, you have to look at the plus points and there were some; 0-0 in the Nou Camp is not a bad result," he said.

Ronaldo vowed to score against Barcelona at Old Trafford next Tuesday after his early penalty miss. Insisting he did not alter his penalty-taking technique, he said: "I didn't change. I scored a few penalties in that side but today I didn't score – no problem. Now I'm going to score in Manchester."

Ronaldo insisted he should have been awarded a second penalty later in the first half when he was bundled over by Rafael Marquez. He said: "I think he touched me. But the referee didn't give a penalty. I don't know why, I don't understand."

As for the contest itself, Ronaldo said: "It was a tough game. Barcelona played very well, they kept the ball a lot. But I think we defended well. We played well as well. 0-0 is a good result.

"They kept the ball a lot but they didn't create great chances. We created more chances than Barcelona."

Ferguson revealed Vidic was likely to miss Saturday's Premier League clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. "He was 24, 36 hours without eating," the United manager explained. "He had some soup this afternoon, but wasn't ready to play.

"Yesterday before training, he had very severe stomach pains, so we sent him off to a hospital only about a mile away.

He was kept in until late at night and then they let him go."

Barcelona: Valdes, Zambrotta, Marquez, Milito, Abidal, Xavi, Toure Yaya, Deco (Henry 77), Messi (Bojan 62), Eto'o, Iniesta. Subs not used: Pinto, Gudjohnsen, Sylvinho, Giovanni, Thuram. Booked: Marquez.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Hargreaves, Ferdinand, Brown, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Park, Rooney (Nani 76), Tevez (Giggs 85). Subs not used: Kuszczak, Anderson, Pique, O'Shea, Silvestre. Booked: Hargreaves.