Nani decisive as United earn precious draw in Lyon

Lyon 1-1 Manchester United

Manchester United scored a priceless away goal with three minutes left on the clock to earn a draw from their Champions League last-16 first-leg match against Lyon at the Stade Gerland.

Substitute Carlos Tevez’s 87th minute strike spared the Premiership champions an uncomfortable deficit going into the return leg at Old Trafford in two weeks, after Karim Benzema had put Lyon ahead.

Despite his impressive performance against Arsenal at the weekend, Nani was dropped from the United starting line-up, while Cristiano Ronaldo returned after missing Saturday’s match with illness.

There was little to choose between the sides in the first half, although United created the best opportunity of the opening forty-five minutes when Wayne Rooney slipped the ball past Squillaci before being denied by Lyon goalkeeper Gregory Coupet, while Benzema fired narrowly over from the edge of the area after a good cut-back from Reveillere.

Ronaldo, who led the competition’s goalscoring charts going into the last sixteen, had a frustrating evening, often seeing his efforts blocked and heading over the bar after doing well to meet a Ryan Giggs corner not long before the break.

Stunning goal

United emerged from the break with a far better control of the game, dominating the opening ten minutes following the re-start, but were stunned when Benzema opened the scoring against the run of play. The highly-rated forward did brilliantly to make space twenty metres from goal and fire an unstoppable low drive into the bottom right corner.

The goal appeared to briefly destabilise the visitors, who made a double substitution with twenty-five minutes left to play, bringing on Nani and Argentine striker Tevez in place of veteran duo Paul Scholes and Giggs.

Ronaldo tested Coupet with a vicious free-kick, before Ferguson’s changes, which soon included the introduction of Michael Carrick for Owen Hargreaves, had the desired effect, with Nani playing a part in Tevez’s late strike.

Nani, who provided two assists and one goal for his side at the weekend, received possession on the inside-right of the penalty area and delivered a well-weighted centre, which Lyon’s Brazilian striker Fred inadvertently diverted into the path of Tevez, with the Argentine left with the simple task of firing into the roof of the net from close range.

Lyon:
Coupet, Reveillere, Squillaci, Boumsong, Grosso, Clerc (Ben Arfa 78), Juninho (Bodmer 73), Toulalan, Kallstrom, Govou, Benzema (Fred 83)
Yellow Cards: Reveillere, Toulalan, Boumsong

Man Utd:
Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes (Tevez 65), Hargreaves (Carrick 78), Anderson, Giggs (Nani 65), Rooney
Yellow Cards: Hargreaves

Goals:
[1-0] Benzema, 54
[1-1] Tevez, 87