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Anderlecht Eye Second Phase
By Michael Mann
Anderlecht, the side dismissed by United coach Alex Ferguson as a "small club" before the game, looked much bigger on the night, as United struggled to find their fluency and at no point looked like potential European champions. Anderlecht now top the table on nine points, followed by PSV Eindhoven on nine, Manchester United on seven and eliminated Dynamo Kiev on four. Ferguson was generous in his praise for Anderlecht afterwards. "The first half was an absolute nightmare for us. Anderlecht's first 45 minutes were exceptional. We are lucky to only lose 2-1," he said. "They deserve the victory." The match avenged Anderlecht's 5-1 defeat at Old Trafford on September 13, lifted them into top spot in the group with United slipping to third. Anderlecht now have a good chance of reaching the second phase of the competition and will definitely do so if they win their last match at PSV Eindhoven on November 8. Even a draw may be good enough although the group is so tight that Anderlecht , PSV and Manchester United could all finish with 10 points and would have to be separated by a complicated tie-break method. SUPERBLY TAKEN GOALS Amid scenes unseen since Anderlecht's heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, the home side richly deserved their victory, which came thanks to two superbly taken first-half strikes by lightning-quick centre forward Tomasz Radzinski. The Canadian, hero of Anderlecht's victory last week over Dynamo Kiev, served notice of intent from the word go, darting dangerously down the left wing twice in the first five minutes. With Walter Baseggio and Yves Vanderhaeghe showing United less respect in midfield than in last month's encounter at Old Trafford, it looked just a matter of time before the breakthrough came. With a quarter of an hour gone, Radzinski sprang the United offside trap, latching onto a through-ball from Baseggio, keeping cool and drilling it past keeper Fabien Barthez. Three minutes later, Barthez was to pull off the first of a series of miraculous saves, hurling himself at a point-blank shot from Czech giant Jan Koller, before twice frustrating Radzinski on 25 and 26 minutes. Anderlecht's second followed after 33 minutes, when a well worked move saw Koller play a low cross from the right which Radzinski steered inside Barthez's right-hand post. "It's been a long time since our defence has been torn apart like that," said David Beckham, who tried hard to inspire his team mates, but never truly threatened from set-pieces. The shock of going two goals down finally woke United from their slumbers and Giggs, their most dangerous player throughout, tore down the left from the restart, providing a cross which neither Andy Cole nor Dwight Yorke could get on the end of. Three minutes later, Anderlecht's excitement got the better of them, as Glen De Boeck and Bertrand Crasson brought Cole crashing down in the box. Denis Irwin made no mistake from the penalty spot. PRESSED HARD United pressed the home side hard in the second half, enjoying the lion's share of the possession, but rarely produced a clear-cut scoring chance. Anderlecht coach Aime Anthuenis was relieved that his players were able to hang on to their well-deserved three points, which leaves them unexpectedly top of their group, with the away tie at PSV Eindhoven to come. "I was afraid after 45 minutes that we would pay for the energy we used during the first half. It's perhaps the most flamboyant victory I've ever had. Radzinski was very, very strong," Anthuenis said.
As time ran out, Anderlecht grew increasingly tired and their defence became more desperate. Despite a heart-stopping last 10 minutes, the Belgians held on to erase the memories of last month's drubbing at Old Trafford.
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Soccer
