BY KEVIN MCCARRA ( The Times )

THE magnificence of the spectacle cannot take the sourness from the mouths of Manchester United. When they led Barcelona 2-0 in the first of their European Cup Champions' League matches last night, it seemed that their crushing domination was to be rewarded. When the visitors, goaded by desperation, responded, however, United's defence was broken.

After the interval, Alex Ferguson's team conceded two penalties and had Nicky Butt sent off for conceding the second of them. A free kick from Beckham briefly put them 3-2 ahead, but the efforts of men such as Figo and Luis Enrique had reduced United to incoherence. The disappointment was all the more severe since, at first, it appeared that they were free of fallibility.

Vexation over United's capitulation in defence will have to be tempered by recognition of Barcelona's courageous panache in forcing themselves free of early traumas. There will be foreboding, too, about United's future if they have not yet learnt to protect an advantage. There is a duty, nonetheless, to salute an occasion that was a restitution of old values to a competition that has been demeaned by constant meddling with its structure. Ability and daring combined to produce a contest in which the wills and abilities of two teams were, ultimately, too well-matched for either to be sure of the upper hand.

Initially, it was United who struck the perfect balance between vigour and watchfulness. All of the muddle was in the minds of Barcelona, since Louis van Gaal, the coach, set out adventurous players in a cautious system. By the middle of the first half, the United supporters, prematurely, were sufficiently relaxed to turn their minds to impishness.

"You should have signed for a big club," they chanted at Kluivert, the Holland forward - ineligible for this game - who had spurned Old Trafford to sign for Barcelona. It was an instinctive response to the delights that United, all too briefly, provided. They sensed weakness, particularly in the full back positions of the Spanish champions. Luis Enrique, who would later prove so influential, and Sergi prefer to advance and they are dejected when limited to sentry duty.

Spirits, in any case, will falter whenever Beckham and Giggs are as assertive as this. The width of a pitch apart, they still combined in the tenth minute, when Beckham's angled pass put Giggs behind the defence. Solskjaer, reaching to make contact with the cut-back, hit the bar.

Barcelona, during that spell, failed to hold possession and in every area of the field a quick-witted United read their opponents' intentions. The relentlessness of the attacking inspired Giggs, whose runs were full of a jubilant spring. His goal was an expression of euphoria, so uncharacteristic was it. Yorke, in the sixteenth minute, found Beckham, who outpaced Sergi before flighting the deep cross that saw Giggs leap to finish with a battering header.

It only took another eight minutes before United scored again, but so great was their domination that there was still a sense of delay. Beckham lifted the ball in with his left foot and Yorke's overhead kick was composed of equal parts of imagination and athleticism. Although Hesp, the goalkeeper, parried, Scholes, predatory as ever, converted the rebound.

Only slowly did Barcelona escape their bemusement. Over half an hour had passed before they had any cause to complain of ill-fortune, but then they were wronged. Rivaldo's shot took a deflection to find the net, but Stefano Braschi, the referee, denied them the goal by ruling, incorrectly, that Anderson was offside. Anderson was also to be thwarted, in legitimate manner, by Schmeichel's save in the 43rd minute.

Barcelona had been playing so clumsily that a recovery should have been expected. United found it impossible to deal with the abrupt change of tone and Barcelona had their first goal after 47 minutes. The Old Trafford side were not trenchant enough on the edge of their penalty area and Rivaldo was able to force play through to Anderson, who drove high into the net.

The first of Barcelona's penalties, after 58 minutes, was hotly disputed, but brought the equaliser. Luis Enrique squared and Rivaldo went down as Stam challenged. To a backing track of boos, Giovanni drilled the ball into the net.

The match had spiralled into delirium and, in that frantic atmosphere, United recovered the lead within five minutes. Abelardo fouled Yorke and, from 25 yards, Beckham curled an authoritative free kick into the net.

By now the game had passed into a beguiling state of anarchy. The mayhem included the third of Barcelona's goals. Luis Enrique twisted away from Giggs and Irwin before directing the cross that Anderson headed onto the bar. In the ensuing mêlée, Zenden attempted to finish before Butt handled Figo's shot and was shown the red card. Enrique forced home the penalty. United's ambitions had shrunk and they were forced to clutch the draw as if it were a gleaming prize.

Manchester United (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - G Neville, J Stam, H Berg, D Irwin (sub: P Neville, 78min) - D Beckham, R Keane, P Scholes, R Giggs (sub: J Blomqvist, 82) - D Yorke, O G Solskjaer (sub: N Butt, 54).

Barcelona (4-1-4-1): R Hesp - L Enrique, F Abelardo, M Reiziger, Sergi - P Cocu - L Figo, Giovanni (sub: Xavi, 68), Rivaldo, B Zenden - S Anderson.

Referee: S Braschi (Italy).