Bayer Leverkusen 1 Manchester United 1 Aggregate: 3-3. Bayer win on away goals.Manchester United went out of the Champions League here last night because hard though they tried, they could not repair the damage their chances had suffered in the home leg of their semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen. A 1-1 draw was enough to take the German side through on away goals.
United hopes rose when Roy Keane gave them the lead shortly before the half hour and for a while they controlled the game. But then Oliver Neuville, United's nemesis in the earlier match, brought the score level in first-half stoppage time and thereafter Alex Ferguson's team never regained the initiative.
Yet they came so close to taking their manager home to Glasgow for a Champions League final at Hampden Park. With four minutes remaining a goalbound shot from Diego Forlan, their Uruguayan striker, was headed off the Leverkusen line by Diego Placente.
Ronny Johnsen's return at centre-back allowed Ferguson to switch Wes Brown to right-back following the loss of Gary Neville in the first game with a broken metatarsal. There was also a reshuffle in midfield and attack, with Ryan Giggs restored to the left flank, Paul Scholes occupying David Beckham's normal position on the right and Juan Sebastian Veron moved forward to play off Ruud Van Nistelrooy.
Whatever the chemistry, the physics of United's game needed to show an improvement on the opening leg, when their passing became ragged and predictable while the defence lost its moorings. Not that they saw a lot of the ball early on in the face of Bayer's patient, possessive approach.
With Neuville now starting the game instead of Dimitar Berbatov but employed in a similarly isolated striker's role, Bayer were more controlled than cavalier.
In fact by the quarter-hour United's cause might well have suffered further damage. After 12 minutes Schneider gathered a pass inside from Diego Placente, saw that Fabien Barthez had come off his line, and produced a delightful chipped shot which beat the goalkeeper only to rebound from a post.
At least this aroused something of the old devil in Ferguson's attack for in the 16th minute a corner was forced, taken by Giggs, and Johnsen's firm downward header was cleared off the Bayer line by Placente.
This was soon to prove an important omen for, by the half-hour, Manchester United had taken the lead through a superb piece of improvisation by their captain.
In the 28th minute Keane picked up a pass from Veron and then accepted a return ball from Van Nistelrooy as he made a blindside run past the Bayer defence before beating Jorg Butt from a narrow angle.
Not that the matter was likely to rest there, and as Schneider and Ballack continued to cause United's defence problems with the timing of their runs into the penalty area, a goal for Leverkusen was still a probability.
Nevertheless United now held the initiative. Giggs was popping up everywhere, and had Basturk not managed to deflect Veron's tightly angled low drive over the bar five minutes from the end of the half they would have increased their lead.
As it was they lost it in first-half stoppage time to a well-worked goal by Bayer. Ze Roberto found Yildiray Basturk in a crowded penalty area but the stocky Turk had the control to hold the ball for Neuville, whose shot beat Barthez off the underside of the crossbar.
Scoring at such moments will always put a fresh spring in any team's step and in the second half United faced a reinvigorated Bayer team. Within six minutes, moreover, Laurent Blanc's error found Neuville running clear on the right with Placente unmarked at the far post waiting for a pass. But when one came it was inaccurate.
Nevertheless Bayer had regained their earlier poise and on the hour Ferguson gave himself an extra striker by replacing Butt with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, at the same time bringing on Denis Irwin for the newly healed Johnsen, which meant Brown returning to central defence.
A mutual wariness then descended on the match as Bayer sought to consolidate their away-goals advantage while United tried to combine ambition with prudence.
Not such prudence, however, as to prevent Scholes sending Giggs clear before following up to volley a shot over the bar following the Welshman's centre.
BAYER LEVERKUSEN: Butt, Zivkovic, Nowotny (Sebescen 10), Lucio, Placente, Basturk (Vranjes 79), Schneider, Ramelow, Ballack, Ze Roberto, Neuville (Berbatov 85). Subs Not Used: Juric, Babic, Kirsten, Kleine. Booked: Ze Roberto. Goals: Neuville 45.
MANCHESTER UTD: Barthez, Brown (Forlan 81), Blanc, Johnsen (Irwin 60), Silvestre, Scholes, Keane, Veron, Butt (Solskjaer 60), Giggs, van Nistelrooy. Subs Not Used: Carroll, Phil Neville, Fortune, O'Shea. Booked: Butt, Scholes, Irwin. Goals: Keane 28.
Referee: K Nielsen (Denmark).
