The Times:
How hard it is to make any sense of Roma's form this year. Their highly surprising, but fully deserved, 2-0 win in Lyon last week was arguably the only clear and uncontroversial victory of the whole round. They took their goals wonderfully well, the first neatly headed by the emblematic Francesco Totti, the second the result of a superb solo by the left-sided Brazilian midfielder Mancini, who rounded off his run with a splendid left-footed drive. And when Lyon threatened to come back into the game, they found themselves denied by the giant 27-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper, Doni, who brought off a point-blank save from the former Arsenal forward, Sylvain Wiltord, and followed that by flying across his goal to turn round the post a fierce drive by the Brazil international Juninho.
The previous weekend, Roma could do no better than gain a shaky 1-1 draw on the ground of the bottom-placed Serie A club, Ascoli, their equaliser from the Swedish winger Christian Wilhelmsson coming as late as the 85th minute.
It is arguable that so far as the Italian championship is concerned, Roma have simply taken their eye off the ball. Though they are impregnable in second place and are therefore all but sure to qualify for the next Champions League, they have drifted 16 points behind the leaders, Internazionale, who, ironically enough, have just been knocked out of the competition by Valencia.
Until the Christmas break, Roma did appear to have some chance of overhauling Inter, but that chance has not only well and truly gone but of late has hardly been pursued.
Away form in the Champions League has scarcely been better than in domestic competition. Not since October 18 last year, when Roma won in Greece at Olympiakos, had they triumphed away from home. And not since December 20 have they recorded an away victory in Serie A, that one being 2-1 at Torino. In that period, away from home, Roma have lost one match and drawn four.
All United were good for in Lens was that Ryan Giggs goal which, however technically legitimate, still raised memories of Stephen Potter's once celebrated book Gamesmanship, the art of winning without actually cheating. Even the eulogised Cristiano Ronaldo was firing blanks that night.
And at Old Trafford, in the return, Lille for all their modest means, almost scored twice. This time, for the solitary winning goal, United had to rely on the indestructible Swede Henrik Larsson, who shortly, of course will be homeward bound.
United's European record in recent seasons has been moderate to a degree. At present, the parts are manifestly superior to the whole, and alas, there is no Roy Keane to galvanise, exhort and inspire.
Let us not be too hard on United. This has so far been a depressingly mediocre European tournament. Former big guns are now firing blanks. Arsenal have crumbled; Barcelona are in decline, in common with Bayern Munich; Real Madrid are in deep crisis. Liverpool and Chelsea have gone through, but each owes so much in this first round of knockouts to abysmal goalkeeping errors.
Ominously for United, Roma have at last begun winning away: and just when it really matters.