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Manchester United 5 Nantes 1
Tuesday 26th February 2002
David Beckham, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2), Mikael Silvestre and Ruud van Nistelrooy were on target as United recovered from going a goal down to race clear in this Champions' League clash.
Frederic Da Rocha had shocked Old Trafford with a tap-in from a left-wing cross on 17 minutes, when three home defenders let a low ball run across the area, but the Reds were soon in full flow.
They immediately won a free-kick just to the left of centre near the Nantes goal. Beckham stepped up and put United level with a curling shot into the top corner.
Solskjaer then gave United the lead on 31 minutes. The Norwegian, celebrating his 29th birthday, took a simple chance after Denis Irwin had freed Van Nistelrooy on the right of the box with a reverse pass.
The Dutchman's centre found Giggs, who nodded back for Solskjaer to make it 2-1.
Silvestre gave United breathing-space with another header on 37 minutes, this one from Beckham's right-wing free-kick as the Nantes back-line crumbled.
The Frenchman was among a posse of home players at the far post to bullet the ball into the roof of the net.
Nantes had made a positive start to the match and should have gone ahead on four minutes when Mauro Cetto's free header hit the bar. Van Nistelrooy scrambled away the follow-up amid French shouts for handball.
And as half-time approached they hit the woodwork again. Da Rocha skipped away from Silvestre and Juan Sebastian Veron, but saw his shot strike the inside of the post and bounce away to safety.
Nantes kept the pressure up in the opening stages of the second half and created a couple of half-chances, before Cetto trod on the ball in his own area and Giggs raced clear to shoot against the outside of the near post.
Andre almost latched on to a through ball on 55 minutes, forcing Fabien Barthez to race out of his goal, before the goalkeeper lost his bearings and needed a defender to blast clear.
But United were happy to sit back before striking on the break and made it 4-1 on 64 minutes when Van Nistelrooy broke away, only to be dragged back by Fabbri.
The defender escaped without so much as a caution, but Van Nistelrooy blasted home the resulting spot-kick before he was replaced by Diego Forlan.
No 5 duly arrived on 78 minutes when Beckham's wickedly-delivered free-kick from the left brushed Solskjaer's brow and flew across the exposed Landreau into the far corner.
Giggs should have made it 6-1 straight after when Forlan drew the last defender before sending the Welsh winger clear, but his first touch was not true and the Nantes goalkeeper was able to get a hand on the ball.
Man Utd: Barthez, Irwin, Blanc (Johnsen 69), Gary Neville, Silvestre, Beckham, Veron, Keane (Butt 75), Giggs, Van Nistelrooy (Forlan 69), Solskjaer
Nantes: Landreau, Deroff, Cetto, Fabbri, Armand, Ateba, Djemba-Djemba, Berson, Ziani (Quint 78), Da Rocha, Andre
Referee: Manuel Enrique Mejuto Gonzalez (La Felguera) |