THE INDIE
Zero degrees and zero points for Manchester United in Copenhagen, and they will not welcome the heat that awaits them in Glasgow in three weeks after losing a 100 per cent record and a seemingly unassailable grip on their Champions' League group in the Danish capital.
Qualification for the knockout stage of the European Cup is imperative for Sir Alex Ferguson this season as he seeks atonement for the embarrassment of finishing bottom of a weak group and out of all Continental competition 12 months ago. His mission was not placed in peril when the former Aston Villa striker Marcus Allback pounced in the 73rd minute at the Parken Stadium, but the entry of doubt into Group F will dampen his 20th-anniversary celebrations at Old Trafford this weekend all the same.
With Celtic slumping to defeat in Lisbon while the Danes danced a conga in celebration of their first-ever win in the Champions' League, Ferguson was left with the concern of requiring another victory to seal top place in the group and passage in a tournament in which he cannot afford to fail so early. A draw when he renews hostilities in his home city with Gordon Strachan on 21 November would put United through on a greater head-to-head against Celtic but defeat, combined with a Benfica win over Copenhagen the same night, would leave for a tense affair when the Portuguese arrive at Old Trafford for the deciding game on 6 December.
"We are going to have to focus really strongly on the Celtic game now," said Ferguson, who saw his side edge a scrappy game but lose the productivity that brought them such rewards and acclaim at Bolton on Saturday. "The group is open now. If we beat Celtic we win the group and that is exactly how we are looking at that game now."
Such drama is all so unnecessary but, then again, it is typical United. In such commanding form before kick-off, they had the chances and control here to have made their passage safe, but six changes to the side that produced an exhibition at The Reebok - an extravagant roll call that strangely included the experienced Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand on a night when United were already missing the absent Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville - wrought inevitable disruption and offered Copenhagen a hope they turned into fulfilment.
"You can regret this and that but we put out a team that was easily capable of winning the match. We shouldn't concern ourselves with what team we picked but losing a goal they way we did," Ferguson said. "It was a scrappy match but we controlled most of the game and never looked like conceding until that corner kick came over."
THE TIMES
Just when Manchester United had one foot in the knockout stages of the Champions League, when a fourth successive group F win or even a point here against FC Copenhagen might have done, they inexplicably fluffed their lines last night. Instead, they must do it the hard way — and against tougher opposition — when they take on Celtic in Scotland on November 21.
A goal from Marcus Allbäck, the former Aston Villa striker, in the 73rd minute, gave the Danish club a famous victory — a tale, perhaps, of almost Hans Christian Andersen proportions — and United a thumping headache that they cannot have envisaged. "If we win at Celtic, we win the group," Sir Alex Ferguson, United's Glasgow-born manager, said. "So that's exactly what we must do."
It was a bad night for Ferguson, five days short of his 20th anniversary at Old Trafford, and was made worse when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer limped off in injury time, leaving United — who had used all their substitutes — down to ten men. When Cristiano Ronaldo had a potential equaliser ruled out in the closing seconds for offside, it summed up Ferguson's evening.
"I'm just thankful that Ole has only a hamstring injury, even though it will mean he will be out for a few weeks," Ferguson said. "With his history of knee problems, I was really concerned for him."
Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs are also doubtful for the visit of Portsmouth in the Barclays Premiership on Saturday, after missing the trip to Denmark, but at least Louis Saha could return. It is unlikely that Ferguson will overreact to only the second defeat for his side in 15 matches this season, but his selection options do appear to be diminishing.
United were paid a visit in their hotel on Tuesday night by P Diddy, the rap star who is due to appear at the MTV European Music Awards in Copenhagen this evening. He chatted with Ferguson, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand for half an hour, the nature of his conversation with the United manager an intriguing thought.
Maintaining the musical theme, the pitch was in a poor condition after the Parken Stadium had staged a concert by Bruce Springsteen at the weekend. Born in the USA was bound to have been belted out by the ageing rocker; "Owned in the USA" seemed more appropriate for United's visit.
THE GUARDIAN
Manchester United's progress to the knockout stages was stalled on a night of sub-zero temperatures and substandard performances. Sir Alex Ferguson's team are still almost assured of joining Liverpool and Chelsea in the next phase but he is entitled to be seriously disappointed by the shortcomings that were exposed in losing to such ordinary opponents.
Marcus Allback, a striker who managed only six goals in two years at Aston Villa, stabbed in the decisive goal 73 minutes into a galling evening for England's biggest club, one that ruined their immaculate record in Group F. The Premiership leaders were desperately short of their best form, lacking any creativity or penetration. Copenhagen were willing opponents, yet limited ones, and it does not reflect well on United's long-term chances when considering the greater calibre of teams who will need to be vanquished later in the competition.
Those thoughts will have been on Ferguson's mind on the flight home to Manchester last night, as well as taking the gloss off his 20th-anniversary commemorations over the next week. But he will know the damage should be only superficial and that United were undoubtedly hindered by the absence of key players.
Ferguson was justified, too, in complaining about the effects of a Bruce Springsteen concert last weekend on the pitch. Large expanses of the turf had been so badly trampled as to destroy any grass and expose the mud. Downpours throughout the afternoon, and even the odd blizzard, had exacerbated the problem and there were areas so rutted and non-conducive to professional football it was like playing marbles on cobblestones.
"The pitch was very difficult and that's why it was the game it was," said Ferguson. "There wasn't a lot of football. It wasn't an easy pitch and it took us 20 minutes just to get any rhythm."
In the circumstances it was unreasonable to expect United to reproduce the exhilarating one-touch passing and movement seen at Bolton on Saturday, but Ferguson was surely stretching the truth when he said United had been "in control of the match" and insisted he was happy with the number of chances they created. It was a classic Ferguson ploy of protecting his players from public criticism and he followed it with several disparaging remarks about Copenhagen, effectively portraying their tactics as no more refined than the 80s Wimbledon and sniping that "what football there was came from us".
Ferguson rarely admits mistakes in public but, privately, he may feel compelled to consider his own team selection, most notably the absence of Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes. With Ryan Giggs, Louis Saha and Gary Neville injured, he selected only five who can realistically consider themselves mandatory first-team picks and, perhaps inevitably, there were long spells when the team struggled to replicate their highest levels of cohesion and fluency. In all the tributes to Ferguson over the coming days, his admirers may have to overlook the overconfidence he showed in making six changes from his victorious side at the weekend.