PICTURES

WEBMASTER'S COMMENT

"Possible Manchester United's greatest European night yet. Although Utd went 2-0 within 15 minutes I think no one panicked and after Roy Keane headed United's first one of the greatest Euro comebacks was on the cards. The only downside to Utd's victory was the booking of both Paul Scholes & Roy Keane, who were both magnificent, resulting in them being suspended for the European Cup Final."

MATCH REPORT

By Frank Malley, PA Sport

It was brilliant and breathtaking. It was dramatic and devastating. At times the tension was like torture. But in the end, the triumph was truly memorable and thoroughly deserved, and no superlative seemed sufficient.

For this was the night Manchester United produced one of the greatest performances in English footballing history to march through to their first European Cup final in 31 years.

The night they beat Italian opposition on home soil for the first time in their history.

The night they conjured a fight-back of epic proportions to show the best of the Premiership can eclipse anything that Italy's Serie A can throw at it.

First half goals from Roy Keane and Dwight Yorke and a late strike from Andy Cole took United through to the final in Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium next month.

But they are the bare statistics behind a roller-coaster match of such spectacular action that it will live in the memory of everyone who witnessed it.

Two goals down after just 10 minutes, Alex Ferguson's Holy Grail of emulating Matt Busby's heroes of 1968 appeared to be in tatters.

But United picked themselves off the floor and beat the pride of Italy with skill and courage and a team heart which pumped tirelessly and thrillingly.

The only sad notes on a night of jubilation were the yellow cards for Keane and Paul Scholes which will keep both men out of the Champions' Cup final.

It was harsh and brutal punishment for one innocuous foul and a silly moment of dissent, and for Keane, in particular, it will be devastating.

For United's tireless and terrier-like captain more than anyone epitomised the wonderful spirit which oozed from his team throughout this performance.

United boss Alex Ferguson had been telling us for months that this was United's year. He had, he said, "a feeling in his bones".

And now, perhaps, we will have to start believing him, as his team proved that they are the most exciting and effective counterattacking team in Europe.

Achievements such as this are the stuff of legend, and there could be no finer setting to witness history than the Stadio Delle Alpi with its space-age construction, dancing fountains and a passion generated by 64,000 fans which crackled on the cool night air along with the obligatory flares and thunder flashes.

And the triumph was all the more commendable because of the obstacles United overcame. Ryan Giggs - their most potent weapon - lost his battle to play with the ankle injury he suffered against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final a week ago.

Instead, Sweden's Jesper Blomqvist was given the responsibility of giving United width on the left.

With Paul Scholes, the hero of the San Siro, sitting on the bench there was, at first, a blunted look to United as an attacking force.

And they could not have made a worse start. Five minutes were on the clock when a powerful thrust from Juventus won a corner out on the left.

It was played short to Zinedine Zidane and the Frenchman, the architect of Juve's superb display at Old Trafford, whipped in a right-footed cross of such devastating penetration that it eluded everyone but Filippo Inzaghi at the far post.

The Italian striker bundled it into the net gleefully before running to the corner flag to accept the delirious congratulations of the Juve faithful.

The tannoy belted out music by the Blues Brothers - and no-one at that moment could have felt bluer than Ferguson. Five minutes later, his face must have been red with anger as Juventus again split the United defence with ease.

Again it was Inzaghi in the clear, swivelling in the penalty area and seeing his left-foot shot strike Jaap Stam and loop over goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel to put Juventus two goals clear.

It was cruel on United, but in many ways it changed the course of the game. Suddenly, Juventus were not so keen to surge forward while United were gripped by a new urgency.

It was a fresh impetus which was to quickly bear fruit in the 24th minute when David Beckham produced one of those set-piece specials from a corner - his swirling cross being met by Roy Keane's decisive header to send the Juve net billowing.

The goal gave United hope and, perhaps, sent the adrenaline pumping just a little too fiercely in Keane's veins.

It looked that way in the 32nd minute when the Irish midfielder mistimed his tackle on Zidane, and Swiss referee Urs Meier produced the yellow card which keeps Keane out of the final.

It had become a contest not dissimilar from a toe-to-toe slugging match between two boxers who both fancied delivering a knockout punch.

And it was Yorke who produced the next body blow when he combined with Andy Cole - the Premiership's most prolific partnership - to notch the equaliser.

Cole swivelled to chip in a pinpoint cross which Yorke met with a superb diving header for his 27th goal of the season - and surely none can have been so important.

Three minutes later, Yorke could have been in dream land when his powerful right-foot shot struck a post, but agonisingly for United, the ball rebounded to safety.

Cole was cursing his first touch in the 55th minute when a precise Beckham cross found him in acres of space and with only goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi to beat - but the ball bobbled off Cole's shin, and the chance was gone.

Stam had to justify his tag as the world's most expensive defender, and one clinically precise tackle on Inzaghi when the striker appeared to be clean through paid off a considerable amount of his £10.75million fee.

Ferguson threw on Scholes for Blomqvist in the 68th minute, but four minutes later, it was United's veteran defender Denis Irwin who could have sealed it, but his right-foot rocket thumped back off a post.

But, as Juventus became increasingly desperate, vast holes began to appear in their defence, and in the 84th minute, United's brilliant counterattacking paid off once more.

This time Yorke was brought down as he tried to round goalkeeper Peruzzi but, instead of pointing directly to the penalty spot, the referee allowed advantage, and Cole slid the ball home from an acute angle.

The 4,000 United fans burst into song, and Ferguson's mind must have drifted towards the Nou Camp.

The Holy Grail is alive. First there is the little matter of chasing a domestic double which itself would be a staggering achievement.

To pull off the treble would truly be the stuff of fairytales.

POST MATCH REACTIONS

A beaming Alex Ferguson watched Manchester United blow away Juventus to clinch a place in the Champions' Cup final - and then hailed the victory as the best moment in his career.

Ferguson, who also described the bookings to captain Roy Keane and Paul Scholes which rule them out of the final as "tragic" for the players involved, was a proud man as his team came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in Turin.

"It is a very proud moment for me. This is the level we want to play at," said Ferguson.

"My players were absolutely fantastic, absolutely magnificent.

"I thought the first 45 minutes was the best in my career as a manager. It was absolutely terrific.

"We gave them a start. But I am proud of the way they recovered and kept their composure, and I think they deserve to be there."

Keane and Scholes will be suspended for the final in Barcelona - the one cloud for Ferguson.

The United manager added: "It's a tragedy. I don't know whether we can appeal. But it's absolutely tragic for them to miss the final, and I feel for them."

Keane admitted he deserved the yellow card, handed out by referee Urs Meier for a late challenge on Zinedine Zidane after he lost control of the ball.

"It's one of those things," said the United captain.

"It was a bit of a bad first touch from me but it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that the club got to the final.

"I knew before the match what the score was but I think I deserved it. We made it hard for ourselves, but even at 2-0 down I thought we would do it."

Keane scored the first goal before Dwight Yorke's diving header levelled the scores, meaning United were leading on away goals.

Yorke, the Trinidad and Tobago international, said: "It has been a brilliant night, and all the lads are delighted. We are off to Barcelona - and what more can you ask for.

"Andy Cole and I have been rested for the last two games, which was a bit disappointing. But the gaffer knows what he's doing. We have a fantastic squad, and that's why we can rotate."

"The bookings were a blow to us because they are key players, but we will cross that barrier when we get to the final."

Andy Cole, who scored the third United goal, added: "People have written things about myself and Dwight, saying the goals have dried up, but everyone knows good strikers go through phases where they don't score.

"We have put it right now, and that's the most important thing."

Peter Schmeichel, beaten by two early strikes from Filippo Inzaghi before United launched their comeback, said: "I couldn't have dreamt of this. We have the FA Cup final secured as well, and everything is going so well for us.

"We started badly and Inzaghi came in and scored two soft goals, but the way we responded was fantastic and we deserved the victory."

Juventus midfielder and France World Cup-winning captain Didier Deschamps admitted: "United played superbly. We did well in the first 20 minutes but after that we really suffered and they deserved to win. We should have won the away leg but today at 2-0 up we should have done the hardest part."

TEAMS

Juventus: Peruzzi, Ferrara, Di Livio, Conte, Inzaghi, Iuliano, Deschamps, Birindelli, Pessotto, Zidane, Davids.
Subs: Montero for Iuliano, Amoruso for Birindelli, Fonseca for Di Livio
Scorers: Inzaghi (6, 11)

Manchester United: Schmeichel, Irwin, G Neville, Stam, Johnsen, Beckham, Blomqvist, Keane, Butt, Yorke, Cole.
Subs: Scholes for Blomqvist
Scorers: Keane (24), Yorke (34), Cole (84)

Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland)