[UCL] Lille 0 - 1 Manchester United

well thy need to start findin the balls its a shambles. KICK EM OUT !!!!!

did you see the fergie interview he was well pissed off!!!!

yea i did and i hope uefa actually do smut bout it. i think the tie should be awarded to us. its a shambles if something isnt done

in some way i agree with that but on the other hand i dont think united will agree with that. It'll cost us a lot of money, we're talking about ticket sales here, tv rights and all more...

that sort of behaviour shouldnt be allowed and something need to be done in my opinion

i sure do agree with it but as i said, football is bussiness and bussiness is money...

yes i suppose it is money for us but just imagine how much we would rake in if we went on to win the champions league. dont kno if its goin to happen tho but hopefully it will

i think not

that's wishfull thinking! Why not? We do have the form and as we go through further and further it can only give the players an extra boost to perform. imo we got a great squad and we got the right form, we can win the CL!

Match Report

Match Report: Lille 0 United 1

A quickly-taken free kick from Ryan Giggs gave United a priceless 1-0 win in a controversial Champions League last 16 tie with Lille.

A host of chances had previously gone begging, but Giggs' 84th-minute winner sealed an invaluable lead ahead of the return leg in Manchester in two weeks' time.

Sir Alex Ferguson named an attacking side for the clash at the Stade Félix Bollaert, with Henrik Larsson partnering Wayne Rooney upfront.

Last season's Group D game against Claude Puel's side in Paris saw an inexperienced United side slip to a single-goal defeat.

Sixteen months on, the maturation and reinforcement of United's ranks was embodied by the fact that four full internationals - Gaby Heinze, Alan Smith, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Kieran Richardson - didn't even make the bench.

Such was the wealth of talent at Sir Alex's disposal that his only pre-match worry concerned the state of the Lens pitch. The bulging Reds squad was put through its paces at Lens' training ground on Monday in order to preserve the state of the match surface.

That decision was quickly validated after the commencement of play, with the pitch quickly cutting up under the high tempo action.

The first half-chance of the game fell to the hosts within just two minutes, as Nicolas Favergue headed well over the bar from Peter Odemwingie's left-wing cross.

Within 60 seconds Favergue's misery had snowballed as he became the first player to be booked, following a late challenge on Gary Neville. He was followed into the book by Patrice Evra, back on French soil with United for the first time. The 25-year-old was cautioned for a foul on Mathieu Debuchy.

Despite the early bookings, United's gameplan of containing and probing made for a calmly conducted opening passage of play, but events off the pitch unfortunately failed to follow suit.

United fans behind Edwin van der Sar's goal began to spill over the safety fencing and the French police responded, it seemed, by using pepper spray. The travelling supporters began to head towards the back rows of their section, shielding themselves from the incapacitating aerosol.

Play stopped momentarily, before United's first chance of the evening fell to Wayne Rooney. Ryan Giggs had a powerful shot blocked but United retained possession and, after Larsson's clever through ball, Rooney fired over the bar under pressure from two Lille defenders.

That incident sparked a spell of United pressure as Sir Alex's side grew as an attacking force. Debuchy and Nemanja Vidic were booked in quick succession before Giggs saw his dangerous right-wing cross cleared in front of Rooney.

United's most dangerous attack of the half saw Giggs' cross find Rooney inside the six yard box at a tight angle. The striker's pull-back was blocked, then Larsson and Ronaldo saw their close range shots ricochet to safety. Lille talisman Mathieu Bodmer then flashed a shot wide of van der Sar's upright in first-half injury time.

The rather cagey mood of the first half wasn't matched in the opening exchanges after the break, however, with a flurry of decent chances created and spurned.

Rio Ferdinand had to be alert to deny Odemwingie, before Rooney embarked on a superb slaloming run, bypassing three defenders before seeing his cross slid wide by Giggs.

Two minutes later Rooney was involved again. He released Ronaldo, and the Portuguese winger ran clean through on goal before being denied by Sylva. As the ball ran loose Ronaldo pulled back for the onrushing Rooney, but he could only fire wildly over the crossbar from just inside the box.

Shortly before the hour mark United's dominance came to an abrupt halt as the hosts stamped their authority on the game. First Bodmer was brilliantly denied by van der Sar at close range, then Odemwingie had a header ruled out for a shove on Vidic.

Louis Saha replaced Ronaldo with 25 minutes remaining, but wasted a glorious chance to score with his first touch, firing straight at Sylva. Odemwingie then shot wide as the game continued at a breathtaking pace, almost as if the players had opted to disregard the second leg entirely.

The chances kept coming. Moments after Lille had whipped in another dangerous corner, United broke at breakneck speed with Rooney. His cross was half cleared before, amid confused defending, Larsson rounded Sylva but could only chip narrowly over under the attention of a posse of defenders.

Paul Scholes was at the heart of all United's best play throughout the evening, giving a masterclass of pulling the strings in midfield.

Lille substitute Johan Audel stabbed over from close range, but a minute later Giggs had given United the lead in controversial circumstances.



With Sylva still lining up his wall for Giggs' impending 25-yard effort, the Welsh winger curled a fine shot into the goalkeeper's unguarded corner. The hosts were predictably incensed, with Sylva booked for his protestations and several Lille players set to walk off the pitch in protest, but the game continued without further incident as United held on for a priceless away win.

Lille: Sylva, Chalmé, Tavlaridis, Plestan, Bodmer, Makoun, Debuchy, Obraniak, Fauvergue (Cabaye, 57), Odemwingie (Audel, 76). Subs not used: Malicki, Rafael, Lichtsteiner, Mirallas.

United: Van der Sar, Neville, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (O'Shea, 90), Ronaldo (Saha, 66), Giggs, Larsson, Rooney. Subs not used: Kuszczak, Brown, Park, Fletcher, Silvestre.

United goal was allowed under the following rules, provided to me by a League referee who is a long time friend of mine:


1. The referee asks the attacking side do they want the opposition players back the required distance or do they want to go early?

2. If they want them all the way back - they are then told to wait for the whistle as are the opposition

3. if they want to go early he steps aside and the kick is taken

4. AT NO TIME DOES HE HAVE TO BLOW THE WHISTLE if the kick is taken early

5. If the kick is taken after asking for the required distance and before the whistle is blown - the offending free kick taker is cautioned - not booked!! - a booking is what you make for your HOLIDAYS!!

6. If the ball enters and crosses the goal line and is DIRECT then a goal is given -- if it is IN -DIRECT and crosses the line wothout an opposing player touching it - then a goal kick is awarded!!!

i just read on the dutch nr1 football magazine's website that Lille is thinking about going to the Uefa to take further steps against the ref, Fergie and Giggs goal. Please Lille, do yourself a favour and just shut up...

check this: http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=512/newsid=509049.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index

init weve do nothin rong every time utd win in a fashon that doesnt suit the other team they complain GROW UP were the biggest club in the world get over it

the point is that the rules in france are a bit different. In france a free kick may not be taken before the ref blowes his whistle. In europe you may take it before. It's they're own fault, blame the Lille manager for it!

true! They absolutely got no chance!

“According to the laws of the game, most people would say the goal was perfectly valid,” the Uefa official said. “There are different interpretations in different countries, but it is very, very unlikely that their protest would be successful.”

source: Times Magazine

Yup: I heard Claude Puel saying that according to French football rules, the ref must blow his whistle before a kick can be taken. Unfortunately for Lille they were playing a match under UEFA Champions League Rules which clearly mention that the whistle does NOT have to blown.

so the only problem left is the crowd... And that's their own fault too, they opened up the wrong sections... Blame yourself Lille!

Sepp Blatter has condemned the decision to host Lille's Uefa Champions League tie with Manchester United at Lens and suggested that fences should be removed from all the top leagues around Europe.

Manchester United fans feared there could be a repeat of the Hillsborough disaster during the game as a surfeit of supporters entered the ground, leading some to flee over the fences.

An investigation is currently ongoing to find out how the incident happened, but Fifa president Blatter believes it is wrong to stage the contest at a potentially dangerous ground. "I cannot understand that those who organise the Champions League accept a stadium like Lens to play such a match," he said. "In Lens, there are fences still, and it should not be permitted to play Champions League matches in such a stadium."

He went on to praise the British system, in which, since the tragedy at Hillsborough, top clubs have removed fences as well as converting to all-seater stadia. "It should be an example for everywhere else in the world. There is comfort and security in the stadia where everyone is seated and you have no fences. "If this were applied to all the other big leagues, some would not face the problems they are facing now."

Lille believe the overcrowding came because United issued their tickets too early, allowing fans time to generate fake tickets. However, United are expected to state their belief that it was the poor quality of tickets that allowed forgeries to be created.