Claims from Spain that Manchester United colluded with Valencia last March to produce the scoreless draw that guaranteed each a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League are unlikely to disturb the concentration of Alex Ferguson's players as they prepare to pick up the thread of their latest pursuit of the European Cup back at the Mestalla Stadium on Wednesday.
Perhaps Miguel Angel Angulo seriously believes that, as he has announced on a Spanish website, the clubs signed a non-aggression pact. If so, the Valencia striker appears to have forgotten the series of outstanding saves by a limping Mark Bosnich in that game which denied his team victory, including at least one from Angulo himself, not to mention Jocelyn Angloma hitting a post from 25 yards.
When Angulo's dodgy dotcom comments were relayed to Ferguson after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge the United manager scarcely raised an eyebrow. He knew nothing about the allegation and therefore could say nothing.
For United this sort of stuff is all so much water under the bridge. For Ferguson what was more to the point was the way his team had performed with so much water falling over the Bridge.
If Manchester United can reproduce in Valencia this week the quality of passing and movement which enabled them to dominate Chelsea for much of a game that defied the saturated conditions to provide entertaining, intelligent football from both sides, then they should not lose.
In the first round of this season's Champions League United's form away from Old Trafford was poor. But now, with Jaap Stam fit, Roy Keane in sublime form and Ryan Giggs and David Beckham still the masters of their respective crafts, it will be a major surprise if they do not again make the knockout stage.
It was a good time to meet a Chelsea side retaining fond memories not only of the 5-0 drubbing they gave the champions at Stamford Bridge last season but also their recovery, in Claudio Ranieri's inaugural game as coach, to force a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford last September after being 3-1 down at half-time.
Even with a 15-point (now 13point) lead at the top of the Premiership Ferguson had little inclination to rest players, although he did keep Teddy Sheringham, his leading scorer, on the bench while Fabien Barthez was not risked because of a troublesome hamstring.
Taking their cue, United responded with a performance that never suggested their minds were elsewhere, so much so in fact that Chelsea spent the last 20 minutes of the game trapped in their own half.
So maybe it was prescience that persuaded Ranieri to withdraw Jesper Gronkjaer, his most likely match-winner, immediately after Andy Cole had brought the scores level midway through the second half. Or maybe replacing Gronkjaer with Slavisa Jokanovic, a defensive midfielder, was just Italian prudence.
Either way the quick, strong Dane was beginning to go past Gary Neville with sufficient ease to give Ranieri's attack the edge that United, for all their possession, were struggling to achieve. In the opening minute of the second half Gronkjaer swept through the defence before leaving Jimmy Hasselbaink with just Raimond van der Gouw to beat from close range. Somehow Mikael Silvestre saved United with an excellent covering tackle, and in that moment Chelsea's best chance of victory disappeared.
That they had had a chance at all was down to a rare moment of aberration by Paul Scholes, who after Stam had cleared the ball tried to nod it back to the goalkeeper but instead set up Hasselbaink, lingering in the penalty area, for a simple header past Van der Gouw.
Just before the hour, Van der Gouw messed around with clearing a back pass to the extent that he became trapped near a corner flag by Gianfranco Zola, who then gained possession and found the net from a tight angle - only to find the linesman had given a throw-in. Nevertheless United probably still said a prayer for the wellbeing of Barthez's hamstring.
They avoided a third Premiership defeat when Andy Cole finally escaped the diligent marking of John Terry and reached a through-pass from Giggs ahead of Marcel Desailly to slip the ball past Carlo Cudicini. "Our best performance for two weeks," said Ferguson, for whom there will never be any time like the present.
CHELSEA: Cudicini, Babayaro, Leboeuf, Desailly, Terry, Ferrer (Lambourde 87), Wise, Dalla Bona, Gronkjaer (Jokanovic 70), Hasselbaink, Zola (Gudjohnsen 90). Subs Not Used: de Goey, Stanic. Goal: Hasselbaink 24.
MANCHESTER UTD: Van Der Gouw, Gary Neville, Stam, Brown, Silvestre, Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Beckham, Solskjaer, Cole. Subs Not Used: Rachubka, Butt, Sheringham, Phil Neville, Yorke. Booked: Scholes, Cole. Goal: Cole 69.
Referee: D Elleray (Harrow-on-the-Hill).
