LISBON: Sir Alex Ferguson found himself answering some unwelcome questions after Manchester United were brought down to earth by Benfica in their opening Champions League game.
Flying domestically, where an unprecedented 18-goal spree has put them top of the Premier League after four games, a much-changed United team looked second-best during the 1-1 draw at Estadio da Luz.
Having conceded their first goal away from home in the Champions League since March 2010, Ferguson’s side might even have lost had it not been for the alert reflexes of second-choice goal-keeper Anders Lindegaard who was a surprise inclusion ahead of David de Gea.
Ferguson bristled when asked whether the Dane had now moved ahead of the 20-year-old Spaniard in the Old Trafford goal-keeping hierarchy.
“I don’t know why you ask these questions,” snapped Ferguson when asked by a television reporter if Lindegaard would play against Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday. “You’re just looking for stupid, little things.”
Some high-profile errors of judgement prompted speculation that the Spanish under-21 international might be dropped, but Ferguson insisted that rotation between him and Lindegaard was a pre-arranged strategy.
“We’ve got two great goal-keepers,” explained the United manager. “We’re always trying to work out how to share things. David will play on Sunday against Chelsea.”
Bayern too strong for Villarreal
An early Toni Kroos strike set Bayern Munich up for a convincing 2-0 win over Villarreal as they look to assert themselves in the Champions League group of death.
Bayern got off to the perfect start with Kroos firing home after six minutes before substitute Rafinha secured the win with 15 minutes left.
Players will get over nervous start: Mancini
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini tipped his expensively-assembled team to overcome their nerves after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Serie A side Napoli in their opening game.
“We were nervous because it was the first game,” said Mancini. “All the players wanted to win this game. If we play simple, we can play better. But it was the first game and I enjoyed it. All the players played at 100 per cent and it was a good result.”
Gasperini hits back at formation debate
Inter Milan coach Gian Piero Gasperini hit out at critics for creating an issue out of his formation following their shock 1-0 home defeat to Trabzonspor.
Gasperini played a three-man defence in the 4-3 defeat at Palermo but following a media storm decided to plump for a conventional back four.
“When a team like Inter loses it’s normal to be criticised,” said Gasperini. “But the quality of discussion these days wasn’t normal.
“It seems as if it’s been
conducted by people who’ve never spoken about football before.”
Meanwhile, Real Madrid got off to a winning start in a hard-fought 1-0 win over Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2011.
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