Group C Manchester Utd 1 Valencia 1: MANCHESTER UNITED will go into the Champions League's knockout stages as winners of Group C and the prize is considerable, as they will be exempt from facing Barcelona or Real Madrid.
The ramifications could have been grave had it not been for Anderson’s equaliser against a Valencia side who played with enough poise and penetration to demonstrate why Alex Ferguson would rather avoid Spanish opponents.
United can still draw one of the two Milan clubs but after going a goal down following a mistake by Michael Carrick in the first half, the outcome was satisfying for Ferguson, even on a night when Rio Ferdinand’s injury problems flared up again. Wayne Rooney showed he is returning to his best form and the 20-year-old Ben Amos, a goalkeeper making his first Champions League appearance in place of Edwin van der Sar, played with an assurance that suggests Old Trafford may see a lot more of him.
This was only Amos’s third start for the first team, the other two coming in the League Cup at a rate of one a season. His inclusion represented a calculated gamble on Ferguson’s part, but the manager clearly felt it better to give his first choice the night off, with Monday’s game against Arsenal uppermost in his thoughts. Patrice Evra and Paul Scholes, who are carrying minor injuries, were also left out but this was otherwise close to being the strongest side available.
Valencia fielded virtually a reserve team, featuring seven changes from the side that played Real Madrid at the weekend, as if the prize did not matter quite as much to them. On that basis, it will be a considerable disappointment to Ferguson that his side spent so long chasing the game.
Valencia set off as if encouraged by the presence of a 20-year-old in the opposition goal. Even so, there was an element of shock to accompany the moment, shortly after the half hour, when Carrick dithered on the ball and lost possession to Alejandro Dominguez. The mistake led to the first goal. Carrick was midway inside his own half and this was the ultimate sin for a player whose game is built around keeping the ball. Dominguez took control and played in Pablo Hernandez, running on the inside-right channel, and the winger beat Amos with a low right-foot shot.
It was the first goal United had conceded in this season’s competition, ending their hopes of setting a record as the first team to keep clean sheets throughout the group stage.
Dominguez had already posed some difficulties for the United defence but the better chances had fallen to the home side. A minute earlier, Park Ji-sung had volleyed straight at Vicente Guaita from Rooney’s cross. Anderson’s shot let him down after a one-two with Rooney left him running clear and Dimitar Berbatov, after scoring five against Blackburn in his last match, wasted two opportunities and had a first 45 minutes he will not care to remember.
Rooney showed in glimpses his form might be returning. He was prominent in some of United’s more penetrative moments and he curled a shot against the crossbar minutes after the opening goal.
The pressure on the Valencia goal increased after the interval but Berbatov headed a good chance wide in the first few minutes and the sense of foreboding among home supporters increased when an injured Ferdinand left the pitch. Ferdinand went straight down the tunnel with a member of the club’s medical staff – it was a worrying development after his recent run, seemingly free of the injury problems that have blighted him for the last 18 months.
Chris Smalling replaced the England captain – as expected, Jonny Evans was not even on the substitutes’ bench after his poor display in the League Cup defeat at West Ham last week – but the emphasis was now on attack, with United’s opponents defending with an increasingly deep line.
It was a spirited effort from United and the pressure told after 63 minutes when Park lashed a fierce shot that the goalkeeper could only palm out. Anderson, with one goal in 108 appearances before this match, followed up to convert the rebound.
Guardian Service
MANCHESTER UTD: Amos, Rafael Da Silva, Ferdinand (Smalling 50), Vidic, Fabio Da Silva, Nani (Giggs 81), Carrick, Anderson (Fletcher 90), Park, Berbatov, Rooney. Subs not used: Kuszczak, Hernandez, Obertan, Macheda. Booked: Anderson.
VALENCIA: Guaita, Miguel, Ricardo Costa, Dealbert, Mathieu, Pablo (Feghouli 81), Banega, Albelda, Jordi Alba (Mata 67), Dominguez (Isco 54), Aduriz. Subs not used: Cesar, Maduro, Soldado, Costa. Booked: Albelda, Miguel.
Referee: Pedro Proenca(Portugal).
