VIEW: United vs Marseille (a). 0-0

After a bore draw in France - where highlights included Chris Smalling playing yet another blinder in the centre of our defence and an overly patriotic Marseille crowd booing Patrice Evra (their left-back has NO idea what he's got coming when he steps foot on the Old Trafford turf...) - I thought I'd leave the boring task of reliving the match to the professionals who have no excuse because they get paid for it...

Manchester United fail to break through Marseille's baracade. Kevin McCarra, the Guardian

Manchester United are so adept on the European stage that a goalless draw seemed of little note despite the fact that it puts the visitors well on the way to victory in this Champions League tie. Supporters are practised in foreseeing doom and it is true that an away goal is normally seen as a key ambition, but Marseille gave no indication of the incisiveness needed to score at Old Trafford.




...Sir Alex Ferguson was a little subdued afterwards. That reflected the standard annoyance of a manager whose team has drawn a blank, but it would also have occurred to him that Wayne Rooney was once more listless and bland. Those who hoped that the spectacular goal against Manchester City was a sort of alchemy that would turn his leaden form into a golden spell are feeling chastened.

While Ferguson had both Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in the line-up, the 4-3-3 system showed there was no real intent on playing an old fashioned centre-forward pairing. Rooney disappointed once more yet few can break the habit of anticipating that he will make the difference. It should, of course, be added that the imagination of the line-up is diluted when Ryan Giggs is injured and Paul Scholes only appears from the bench.

...All in all, it looks likely that the hurt felt at full-time in the return leg will belong purely to Marseille.

Quick Reactions From Draw Against Marseille. Republik of Mancunia

1.The only dangerous attacking outlet we had this evening was Nani. Whilst his decision making was circa 2008-2009 at times, his ability always impresses me. He can beat his man with ease and if he had studs in that would stop him slipping all the time, he’d be even more effective. He got the better of Heinze more often than not and conceded so many freekicks for getting fouled. Talk about officials being intimidated by the crowd, tinfoil and all.




2. Chris Smalling put in another accomplished performance and meant we didn’t have to miss Rio Ferdinand. Jonny Evans was impressive last season and has fallen short of the mark this year, so I’m trying not to get too excited, but Smalling looks to be the real deal. He’s composed on the ball and put in some important blocks.

3. I’ll have to skim over this point given the frequency it has to be spoken about this season. Our midfield were by-passed constantly. It seems as though Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson take it in turns to be the most ineffectual player on the park. Things looked better when Paul Scholes was introduced late on but with Anderson out for a few weeks and important games on the horizon, the midfield is a big worry.

Marseille 0 - 0 Manchester United. Henry Winter, the Telelgraph




No fantasy but no frailty either. Manchester United ignored Didier Deschamps’ critique about their paucity of creativity, simply demonstrating the resolve in their ranks to take a solid step towards the Champions League quarter-finals. No richness but no risks either.

In a disappointing encounter in the Theatre of Drums, United conjured up little in the attacking third to capture the imagination but gave nothing away at the back. This was not one for the scrap-books, not a game bequeathing particularly significant memories, but United will not care if it guides them to the record books. The Treble remains possible, although they will need to sharpen their cutting edge.

No matter. They survived Marseille’s second-half mistral. This was another example of United’s fabled resilience, reflected in a record on the road in Europe of only two defeats in 23 trips (and those were to Barcelona in the 2009 final in Rome and at Bayern Munich last year).