Lyon 1 Manchester United 1:Alex Ferguson likes to boast that no other side in the world scores as many decisive late goals as Manchester United.
It is a habit that has got them out of trouble more times than he can remember and yet again it came to their rescue last night, courtesy of Carlos Tevez's talent for being in the right place at the right time and, collectively, an instinct that runs through the team that they are never defeated.
There were only four minutes remaining when Tevez, a second-half substitute, lashed a right-foot shot past Gregory Coupet from close range at the end of United's first spell of pressure in the game.
The match had looked to be drifting away from them after Karim Benzema's splendid goal confirmed that French football has unearthed another potential superstar.
Yet Tevez's late contribution establishes Ferguson's team as the clear favourites to progress to the quarter-finals. Ferguson will take further encouragement from the fact that Lyon have not won an away match since November 24th.
Lyon are a fast, athletic side and in Benzema the French champions clearly have a forward who could trouble an accomplished defence. Juninho, their Brazilian midfielder, is another player who will warrant special attention when the teams renew acquaintances at Old Trafford on March 4th, but Ferguson is entitled to be encouraged by the way, in spells, his players dictated the pace.
Ferguson's policy was borne from the kind of conservatism that is rarely seen when he is constructing his team for Premier League games.
Tevez had been sacrificed so an extra midfielder could be squeezed in, thus denying space for Juninho, while Michael Carrick's beautiful passing against Arsenal last Saturday was still not enough to keep him in the team ahead of Owen Hargreaves.
There will be United supporters who might wish that Ferguson would revert to his more adventurous instincts as he did in 1999, his solitary triumph in this competition.
However, the pragmatism was understandable given Lyon's speed on the counter-attack and, even with the emphasis being on keeping the game tight and restricted, there were still moments when United looked capable of exposing their opponent's defence.
In the opening 45 minutes Lyon attacked with vigour and verve yet seldom got behind the United defence. Benzema flashed a shot above the crossbar and a frisson of excitement swept round the stadium whenever he got the ball at his feet and stretched those long, powerful legs.
There was also a horrible moment for Rio Ferdinand when he swung his left foot at a cross and nearly slashed the ball beyond his own goalkeeper. Overall, however, United looked comfortable in this period and Benzema had little space.
His style is reminiscent of the Brazilian Ronaldo and, though Benzema claims not to like the comparison he may have to get used to it if he carries on scoring goals as outstanding as his left-foot strike in the 54th minute.
It was a mixture of power and precision, and a thing of beauty, too. The touch to control the ball and the body movement to create space meant he was unchallenged despite the proximity of several defenders. His shot was low and hard and in that moment all the hype seemed justified.
The goal compelled Ferguson to bring on Tevez but it was not until the final few minutes that United worked up a head of steam.
A Ronaldo free-kick was tipped over brilliantly by Coupet and from the resulting corner Lyon never cleared their lines.
Carrick's shot was blocked, but when the ball dropped to Tevez he swept in his 15th goal of the season.
LYON: Coupet, Reveillere, Squillaci, Boumsong, Grosso, Clerc (Ben Arfa 78), Juninho (Bodmer 73), Toulalan, Kallstrom, Govou, Benzema (Fred 83). Subs not used: Vercoutre, Cris, Delgado, Keita. Booked: Reveillere, Toulalan, Boumsong.
MANCHESTER UTD: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes (Tevez 65), Hargreaves (Carrick 78), Anderson, Giggs (Nani 65), Rooney. Subs not used: Kuszczak, Saha, O'Shea, Fletcher. Booked: Hargreaves.
Referee: L Cantalejo (Spain).
