The Times - 27th November 1998

GUILT, perhaps, is too strong a word for it, but something akin to regret descended on Barcelona and Manchester United yesterday, like indigestion gripping a glutton. The fantasy was wonderful, intoxicating stuff while it lasted in the Nou Camp stadium on Wednesday night, but yesterday both teams were facing the reality that a 3-3 draw was not the result that either of them wanted.

It was worse for Barcelona, of course, whose chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals had been finally snuffed out. "A centenary without Europe," the mournful headline in El Periodico said. The club's 100th birthday celebrations will not seem the same without the chance to gild them with the European Cup.

United's reaction was more equivocal. There was bound to be pleasure in a performance that was among their most thrilling in European competition and so nearly turned into their best away victory for three decades. They were vibrant, skilful and flowing and their forwards, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, tore the Barcelona defence to shreds.

Nor should it be forgotten that they have already outlasted Barcelona in the toughest of all the groups in the Champions' League, that they have defied the doubters who said that they would be exposed by the might of the Spanish giants. They have proved that they can mix it with the elite of Europe.

However, their inability to protect a lead has cost them dearly already this season and the same weakness afflicted them twice more on Wednesday night, when other teams might have stifled the match and the magnificence of Rivaldo, Barcelona's Brazil midfield player, and secured the result.

If it seems graceless and parsimonious to criticise United for any part of their display, the fact remains that, for all the unparalleled entertainment they have offered in Europe this season, everything rests on their sixth and last group match, against Bayern Munich on December 9.

If United win, they will go through to the last eight. If they lose, they will not. If they draw, it should just be enough to secure the second of the two best runners-up places.

The first is likely to be claimed by either Real Madrid or Internazionale, of group C, but there is also a danger that Galatasaray and Rosenborg, from group B, might both outdo Alex Ferguson's side. If Juventus beat the Turks in Istanbul next Wednesday, a point against Bayern Munich will almost certainly see United through.

It is still impossible to quell a feeling of unease about the game against the Germans, though. Memories of United's failure to overtake Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final second leg two years ago are still raw and painful. Only a one-goal victory was needed to beat AS Monaco at Old Trafford in the quarter-finals last season, but United could not achieve it. Then there is the small matter of the hold that German teams seem to have over English teams.

"We do believe we can beat Bayern," Jaap Stam, the United defender, said. "But the German teams are always tough because they come back at you. Sometimes you play them and you think you are winning in the game, but then they come back at you. They are very strong that way.

"We have seen it before with their national team in European championships and World Cups where it did not look like the Germans would make it. Sometimes you think they are not going to do well, but they nearly always seem to get there in the end.

"Because of all that, this match will require 100 per cent concentration from us. A draw may be enough but I am not sure how the other groups are. It would be better for us to win and come first in the group rather than have to think about other teams and hope they might do us a favour. We have got to win to make sure."

It would be a surprise if Ferguson repeats his bold experiment of playing Wes Brown instead of Phil Neville at right back. For all Brown's attacking flair, he was caught out of position too often and found it hard to cope with the running and skills of Zenden. Ferguson's willingness to attack Barcelona must be admired, but it is hard to escape the feeling that with the younger Neville in the side, resistance to the Catalan fightback might have been stiffer.

Terry Venables, the former Barcelona manager, mused afterwards that Rivaldo might have found less space if David Beckham had not played in quite as wide a role, but against the Germans, when Ryan Giggs may have been restored to the side, it is likely United will go for their opponents' throats again.

In Yorke and Cole, they have two strikers playing at the top of their game. Barcelona singularly failed to cope with their pace and guile and Ottmar Hitzfeld, the Bayern coach, will have to make their containment his priority.