Richard Williams on how Alex Ferguson's faith in Roy Keane wasrewarded with a goal while his gamble on £28.1 million record signing JuanSebastian Veron failed to pay dividends

When Carlos Alberto Parreira was coaching Brazil on the way to their fourth World Cup in 1994 he used to say that, if he messed things up, there were 155 million other coaches back home who would let him know exactly where he had gone wrong. There is hardly a football fan alive who does not know better than the manager but you would not have been in Alex Ferguson's shoes as Manchester United tried desperately to win him one final trip home to Glasgow last night.

Back in 1993 any of us could have made the decision to pay £3.5 million of Manchester United's money for Roy Keane. Ferguson had to set an English record to get him but his brilliance at the age of 22 left no doubt of his potential to become one of the most important players in United's history.

As he rounded Hans-Jorg Butt and slotted the ball home to put United in the lead against Bayer Leverkusen last night Keane was repaying Ferguson's faith and United's investment yet again. And as he ran to the United supporters he heard the sound that had echoed around the Stadio delle Alpi on a similar night three years ago. "Keano! Keano!" They sang it long into the night in Turin after Keane had inspired United to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Juventus, Zinedine Zidane and all, to win 3-2 and give Ferguson the chance to match the achievement of his most illustrious predecessor, Sir Matt Busby, even though Keane knew that he would not be taking part himself.

It is a testament to Keane's stature that he was universally seen as the one man who could see United through last night's difficult tie and his goal in the 28th minute confirmed the solid foundation of that faith. It came, moreover, at a time when United were being overwhelmed.

The German side were being encouraged by United's inability to hold the ball up front, a feature of their play not helped, on the face of it, by Ferguson's decision to play Juan Sebastian Veron as the shadow striker, just behind Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Having set one record when he bought Keane, Ferguson established a new mark by paying £28.1 million for Veron last summer. Once again there was little argument. But his story and Keane's could hardly be more different. And, after enduring his feckless display on the right flank in the first leg against Bayer Leverkusen, which of us would have picked him to play in the second leg in an even more prominent role?

One interpretation of Ferguson's decision would be that he was furious enough with Veron's failure last week to put him in a more exposed position, thereby hoping to goad him into justifying his reputation.

United needed goals last night, however, and for a creative midfielder with an inclination to attack Veron is anything but a prolific scorer. In the six seasons since he arrived in Europe he has scored only 19 times in league and European Cup football.

Early in April, when Veron was coming under fire, Ferguson came to his defence. The player was being picked on, he claimed, because England had drawn Argentina in their World Cup group. Given the xenophobia that runs rampant in certain quarters, there may have been some truth in that. But it was also true Veron had initially enjoyed the goodwill of the fans and critics on his arrival and that the criticisms were fully justified.

Last night he wandered in the area behind van Nistelrooy and stirred himself a couple of times into long, loping runs, first to challenge the goalkeeper for a loose ball and then to provide cover at the back for Mikael Silvestre, stranded upfield after putting over a cross from which Leverkusen made a characteristically swift and direct break.

There was a reminder of his somewhat patchy record as a striker, however, when Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes combined to send him in unmarked on the left side of the penalty area, only for his right-foot shot to fly wildly over the bar. Five minutes before the interval he was on target with a shot from Giggs's half-cleared corner but this time his low drive was deflected over the bar off a diving defender.

So a coach's dream and a manager's despair struggled in their different ways to keep United on course for a rendezvous at Hampden Park, with Ferguson powerless to do more than stand and watch.