Ronaldo nets goal no. 30 as United ease into quarter-finals

Manchester United 1-0 Lyon

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 30th goal of the season proved to be the winner as Manchester United edged out France’s Lyon in the Champions League at Old Trafford.

On what was a surprisingly tense evening in England, Ronaldo’s first-half goal saw United into the quarter-finals, as a sluggish second-half performance saw the Red Devils make tough work of their opponents.

Alex Ferguson surprised some with his team selection, as Ronaldo and Nani were joined in the starting eleven by Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher, while Owen Hargreaves and the goalscorer from the first leg, Carlos Tevez, were left on the substitutes’ bench.

United controlled much of the first half, although neither side offered much in the way of clear-cut attempts on goal, and the crucial moment arrived on 41 minutes as Ronaldo scored his 6th goal of this season’s competition.

Wes Brown’s overlapping run and cross struck a Lyon defender and rebounded to the feet of Anderson, whose attempted side-foot finish found its way to Ronaldo, with the Portuguese showing great composure before firing a left-footed shot inside Gregory Coupet’s near post.

The hosts were far less authoritative in the second half, and were given a couple of scares by Lyon’s overlapping full-backs Fabio Grosso and Francois Clerc, while substitute Kader Keita struck the post as Lyon threatened to level the tie.

However, United twice should have put the game to bed on the counter attack, but Wayne Rooney failed to benefit from numerical advantage as United caught the French champions on the break, while the England forward also wasted a good chance following a poor backpass from Ben Arfa.

After the match, a relieved Ferguson took time to praise Ronaldo for reaching the 30-goal mark. “For a wide player to do that is fantastic, it is a great contribution,” he said. “We made it difficult for ourselves. But we are into the next round - which was the objective before the game.”

Man Utd:
Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Tevez 70), Ronaldo (Hargreaves 90), Rooney, Nani
Yellow Cards: Evra, Nani, Fletcher

Lyon:
Coupet, Clerc, Squillaci, Cris, Grosso, Ben Arfa, Juninho, Toulalan, Kallstrom (Fred 79), Govou (Keita 67), Benzema
Yellow Cards: Grosso, Squillaci

Goals:
[1-0] Ronaldo, 41