Man Utd 0; AC Milan 1: A wretched error from Roy Carroll, Manchester United's erratic goalkeeper, may have caused irreparable damage to Manchester United's hopes of restoring the European Cup to Old Trafford, writes Daniel Taylor.
Alex Ferguson's men are intrepid travellers, but even if they rediscover their most exhilarating peaks it is difficult to see how they can achieve the feat of escapology that is needed in the return leg,.
With the game drifting to its conclusion, Carroll was unable to hold an ordinary shot from Clarence Seedorf and Hernan Crespo pounced on the rebound to score what promises to be a crucial goal. Ferguson, as is his way, will contest that the Italians' lead is retrievable, but Milan's defending was so accomplished, completely subduing their hosts, that privately he must fear the worst.
United have never beaten Milan at the San Siro but the old guard of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs will remember silencing the Curva Nord when they faced Internazionale in 1999, and Ferguson's men should think back to their last expedition to Italy, a 3-0 win at Stadio delle Alpi that had Corriere dello Sport declaring that "Manchester had made meatballs of Juventus".
But Milan have genuine aspirations of Andriy Shevchenko, their European footballer of the year, being available for the rematch, even if it requires him to wear a protective mask over his fractured cheekbone.
Yet, Ferguson should also be in a position to add Ruud van Nistelrooy to his artillery, having brought the Dutch striker on as a second-half substitute last night.
Wayne Rooney started as a solitary attacker with Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo offering width and penetration on the flanks. Sporadically, it worked, but there were also long spells when United had to operate with restraint. Milan's counter-attacking thrusts were slick and stylish and Ferguson had clearly impressed on his players the need for some conservatism.
Milan's undistinguished record of only four goals in their previous 10 games in England, and none since a UEFA Cup semi-final against Tottenham in 1972, seemed in danger within the opening 15 minutes. Seedorf skimmed a free-kick off the top of the crossbar and, slowly but surely, the Serie A leaders began to work their elaborate patterns.
Milan certainly took better care of the ball throughout the opening half but, paradoxically, the most inviting chances fell to United. One breakaway saw Ronaldo sprint 70 yards before exposing the Italians' defence with an infield pass that sent Quinton Fortune bearing down on goal.
Dida, Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper, had sprung off his goal-line and though Fortune reached the ball first he was sufficiently distracted to prod his shot marginally wide of an exposed goal.
Fortune was also heavily involved earlier on and might have surprised even himself with the ease with which he took the ball beyond Alessandro Nesta to create a splendid chance for Paul Scholes.
Opportunities to exploit the space behind Milan's renowned defence are so remote that Scholes, who had time to pick his spot, will not care to see the video replay of his misdirected shot.
Ronaldo was in nappies when Paolo Maldini began his illustrious career so perhaps it was only inevitable there would be spells when the Italians' superior experience shone through. Their parsimonious defending may not always attract the neutral, but there is plenty to admire and they were not distracted by Jaap Stam injuring himself in the warm-up.
Ferguson would certainly have been disappointed by the paucity of chances his side created, a theme that continued in the opening exchanges of the second half, although there is also an argument that, with Van Nistelrooy back, United might have more opportunities in Milan, even if the home side will no longer feel compelled to attack in numbers.
Van Nistelrooy is unaccustomed to sitting on the bench and as the snow fluttered down and the gritters set to work outside he must have been relieved that the luxuries afforded to players at England's wealthiest club extend to central heating in the dug-out. He would have been even more thankful to see the substitutes' board go up with his number just after the hour.
Yet, the decisive touch was applied by Crespo, and, as United wilted, their opponents might have inflicted even more damage.
MANCHESTER UTD: Carroll, Gary Neville (Silvestre 80), Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Ronaldo (van Nistelrooy 62), Scholes, Keane, Fortune (Saha 80), Giggs, Rooney. Subs Not Used: Howard, Phil Neville, Smith, O'Shea. Booked: Fortune.
AC MILAN: Dida, Cafu (Costacurta 86), Nesta, Maldini, Kaladze, Gattuso, Pirlo (Ambrosini 84), Seedorf, Rui Costa, Kaka (Serginho 90), Crespo. Subs Not Used: Abbiati, Tomasson, Dhorasoo. Booked: Nesta. Goals: Crespo 78.
Referee: M Gonzalez (Spain).
