Manchester United vs. FC Porto, 9 May 2004, Old Trafford, UEFA Champions League

PLAIN BAD LUCK by Aaron Wong
So United lose 3-2 on aggregate. Did they deserve to, on basis of the Old Trafford display? I think not.

What I saw on Wednesday morning (Singapore time) was a refreshing display unseen since Ferdinand's untimely incapacitation. Every time a Porto player got the ball, a red shirt was there to close him down. Deco, so important a player for the Portuguese champions, was rendered impotent by the tigerish United midfield of Djemba-Djemba, Giggs, Fletcher, Scholes and Butt.

With the tie hanging by a thread, United set out their stall to get that early goal, and their endeavour was duly rewarded, when a pin-point O'Shea cross was headed home emphatically by the ginger-haired one. 1-0 up on the night, and if things remained that way, United would go through on away goals.

Seemingly in cruise control, the Red Devils now had the impetus, as the onus was now on Porto to get their goal. United were dominant in the air, compared to their inept display in Oporto two weeks ago, Brown standing out with countless clearing headers. Porto held the upper hand on possession without creating anything useful, and were limited to long-range potshots, courtesy of the opposition's willingness to close them down. Save for a Carlos Alberto effort which Howard did well to save with his feet, Porto were haunted by Jose Mourinho's pre-match boast that they couldn't be hurt if United didn't have the ball. As it happened, Porto were the ones who needed the ball, had most of it, 57% at one point, and couldn't do much with it.

Dmitri Alenitchev, constantly probing the right wing, saw plenty of the ball, but always had O'Shea and Giggs to contend with, while Deco and Pedro Costinha were reduced to possession hoggers.

The young Brazilian, Carlos Alberto, had a match to forget as he twisted this way and that, but always found a red wall. A ridiculous three-foul streak, all on the left wing, left the home side livid at his antics. But the perceived protection he got from the Russian referee was thrown in his face when he went down theatrically in the area under pressure from the imperious Brown, and looked up to see Mr Ivanov waving play on. What was more mysterious was the absence of a booking for simulation. He was eventually substituted in the second half.

In hindsight, the turning point arrived just before half-time, when United were looking the more dangerous side when they had the ball. After a bit of pinball in the Porto penalty area, Giggs managed to send a scuffed shot towards goal. Vitor Baia anticipated it, and got down to it. Only the ball wasn't there. Scholes got a foot to it, trapped it and in one swift execution, toe-poked it past the despairing keeper. Ironic how the Portuguese keeper had the no. 99 jersey then. 99 times out of a hundred a goal would've been given, but Old Trafford groaned collectively when the linesman's flag was raised. TV replays vindicated the protesting Scholes, as he was clearly a yard onside when Giggs played the ball in.

Ah well, we thought. Poetic justice will be done in the end.

It was perplexing to see the second half begin with Louis Saha, carrying a slight Achilles heel problem, in place of Djemba-Djemba, who did a great job of getting stuck in and unsettling the Portuguese ballet troupe. But when United's own Portuguese darling came on for the more defensively-sound Darren Fletcher, it was obvious what the all-Scottish bench wanted. The game was to be killed off on the counter-attack. The FA Cup match against Fulham had proved how lethal the Ronaldo-Saha combination could be on the fast break, and with Porto committing men forward, two goals would have been enough to bury them.

Less then ten minutes after Ronaldo's introduction though, the Porto support hypocritically derided the flamboyant winger for taking a dive when he went down after pushing the ball past Nuno Valente. The referee thought so too, but apparently there was more than an Oscar lost when Ronaldo was stretchered off, bringing back memories of his jersey predecessor's metatarsal episode, against another blue-and-white-striped team, Deportivo.

The dream of poetic justice still lingered in the minds of the United faithful, as the tension proved unbearable. They needed a second goal before they could relax.

Unfortunately the goal came from Porto.

United, for so long the purveyor of late, late goals, got a taste of their own medicine, as Porto won a contentious free-kick within Beckham range. His shadow hung over the stadium as Benni McCarthy, hero of the first leg, placed the shot towards Howard's top-left corner. I say "towards", but the truth was it arrowed like a guided missile. T-Ho got a hand to it, but failed to direct it to safety. Francisco Costinha, just back from suspension, was on hand to slam it home, his third goal in seven games. As Porto celebrated, United were in disbelief. Not because their defeat was of their doing, but because they knew they did all they could. A late flurry of red waves crashed safely of the Porto moorings, and in the end, their first leg performance proved costly.

United can hold their heads high despite the result, and it was more due to bad luck more than anything, a recurrent theme this season. First, Ferdinand, then Magnier, then Keane's ill-advised retaliation at being outclassed in Portugal, then Scholes's perfectly legitimate goal which would've killed them off, then Ronaldo's premature end. Porto's free-kick might even have been waved on by another referee.

A bustling performance from the Reds, but the cutting edge was just out of reach in this nonetheless inspired display. Truth be told, United's best chance of silverware now lies in the FA Cup, the one they disowned in 2000. If United maintain this standard, then they might just halt the Arsenal juggernaut.

It is not always the case that a good performance merits a good result, but more often than not it does. As Yao Ming put it aptly the other day, 'Resolve means victory'. Right on.