THE INDEPENDENT:
Those who had predicted Aston Villa would serve merely as the hors d'oeuvres for Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of Rock of Gibraltar's big race in Chicago were sorely mistaken. Graham Taylor's under-fire team left Old Trafford with a deserved draw and might even have taken all three points had they shown a little more conviction in front of goal. In the event, Manchester United were saved by a man who had never scored a Premiership goal in 23 previous appearances.
Diego Forlan has been the subject of much ridicule inside and out of Manchester, but the £6.5 million man has, at long last, started to silence his critics. The significance of the goal was not lost on the fans, or indeed the player himself, who celebrated his header by removing his shirt before embarking on a wild run around the ground.
It is difficult to remember an occasion when Ferguson's men were so wasteful. The midfield, in particular, lacked the necessary bite. On this evidence, Roy Keane cannot return quickly enough to offer some much-needed leadership to this rudderless team, particularly now that Nicky Butt will be out for some time after his operation this coming Tuesday.
With the Villa defence, and especially Gareth Barry, holding firm, United looked to be heading for a second home defeat of the season when they equalised from the most unlikely of sources.
Unlikely, that is, not because of the position in which he plays but because of his terrible record. Forlan has always been a tireless worker, yet seemed destined never to find the net during a League match for United. All that has now changed, thanks to his headed equaliser 12 minutes from time.
THE OBSERVER:
At the end of a bizarre week in which Manchester had been temporarily transformed into a drab, sodden version of California, the biggest shocks of the week were reserved for events here. Not only did Aston Villa score an away goal - and threaten to win - but Diego Forlan scored.
Forget Richter scales and emergency procedures after a week of more than 30 earthquakes striking the city, the noise that greeted Forlan's first goal in open play in this, his 34th game, must have surpassed all before it.
The goal came in the 77th minute of a game United scarcely deserved to draw, a goal looking beyond them for the vast majority of the proceedings. Mikael Silvestre was allowed time in the Villa area to pick out a team-mate, choosing the blond, headbanded Uruguayan who was afforded the space to meet the cross and score with a perfectly-judged header.
Pay no heed to talk of goal droughts not affecting players. Forlan's bare-chested reaction to his goal told the full story of the anguish the £7.5 million striker has been through waiting for that moment.
THE TIMES:
With Rock Of Gibraltar running in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, it was always going to be a momentous day for Sir Alex Ferguson. So it proved, even before his horse raced off in Arlington, Chicago.
When Manchester United equalised to save the point which a dogged Aston Villa had seemed likely to deny them, the stadium announcer blared that the scorer was David Beckham. Mistaken identity in this case was unfathomable. What about the straw-maned Uruguayan cavorting like a lottery winner? Diego Forlan — ending the most celebrated striking drought in the Premiership with his first strike in open play in nine months at United — made history before The Rock had even left his stable.
Van Nistelrooy, the horse, was also at Arlington yesterday. That Manchester United had nobody of that name on their team sheet — the Dutch striker is still resting a hamstring injury — exposed once again the thin patches in Ferguson’s squad. It is obvious that he needs another forward.
THE TELEGRAPH:
Nothing, if he was honest, could ruin the moment for Diego Forlan. Not United drawing at home against the team with the worst away record in English football. Not even the man on the Tannoy at Old Trafford awarding his goal to David Beckham. The Uruguyan, in his 35th appearance for Manchester United, had finally scored a goal from open play and his joy knew no bounds as he ripped off his shirt and twirled it around his head before being smothered by his team-mates.
And what a good goal it was. Whether it was worth the wait is another matter, but it was a handsome goal and came, instead of pointlessly in some runaway victory, in a game in which United desperately needed it, since they trailed at the time to a first-half goal by Olof Mellberg. United were in one of their post-Europe lethargic moods and heading for a not-so surprising defeat against a team who had not only not taken a point away from Villa Park, had not even scored on their travels.
The man on the Tannoy must have been the only one among the crowd of 67,619 who did not realise who had scored. It would be nice to think that Forlan, who cost United £7.5 million from Independiente last January, might now go on to great things, but few at the club are holding their breath. At least the spell has been broken.