UNITED 5 ZALA 0

This report from The Times

There was always likely to be embarrassment for one team at Old Trafford
last night, but, as expected, it was suffered not by the aristocrats of European
football but a bunch of journeymen players from Hungary. Defeat in the first
leg of this qualifying tie had raised the spectre of humiliation for Manchester
United, but they reasserted themselves with one of the most one-sided
victories seen for years at the Theatre of Dreams to secure a place in the first
group stage of the Champions League. Chastened by the loss in Budapest,
United almost issued the ultimate riposte to Zalaegerszeg on an evening
when the red shirts were queuing up to score. Diego Forlán's failure to hit the
target since his £7.5 million transfer has become a running joke among the
United supporters and, happily, they could afford to laugh at his continued
misfortune last night.

Ushered forward to take a penalty when Sasa Ilic jumped into Ruud van
Nistelrooy and was harshly dismissed, the Uruguay forward was forced to
give the ball back to the Holland striker when Roy Keane intervened and
declared that beating their opponents was one thing but mocking them quite
another. A few minutes later, Forlán did put the ball in the net, but his header
was disallowed. His anguish was strictly personal on a night when only an
ankle injury suffered by Paul Scholes and lingering concerns about Keane's
fitness diminished United's pleasure.

Rio Ferdinand enjoyed a gentle return to action on his first senior appearance
for United and should make his Barclaycard Premiership bow away to
Sunderland on Saturday. Two goals from Van Nistelrooy, a spectacular free
kick from David Beckham and typically composed finishes by Scholes and Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer secured United's passage through a qualifying round that
should never have been troublesome and they will almost certainly go into the
hat for tomorrow's draw as one of the seeds. The financial cost to United of
failing to qualify for the first group stage of the competition had been spelt out
so repeatedly — and with such variation as the estimates ranged from £10
million to £40 million — that it was easy to think that money was the prime
incentive. Perhaps it was for those who have to worry about balancing the
books, even at a club as wealthy as United, but not for Beckham, Scholes,
Juan Sebastián Verón and Ryan Giggs, who were motivated by a raging
desire not to suffer one of the greatest humiliations of their careers.

Beckham, in particular, appeared to have taken the 1-0 defeat in the first leg
as a personal insult. Feisty in the 2-2 draw away to Chelsea on Friday, he was
almost rabid last night as he closed down opponents and showed relentless
aggression on and off the ball. First to every tackle from the kick-off, United
overwhelmed Zalaegerszeg so comprehensively in that opening 25 minutes
that one almost felt sorry for the Hungarian team. Intent on an early strike to
soothe the nerves, United achieved their ambition within six minutes, when
Phil Neville and Keane slipped the ball down the right wing to Scholes. Quick-
thinking as ever, the England midfield player immediately flicked the ball to
Van Nistelrooy, who ran clear and poked the ball through Ilic's legs for his first
goal of the season.

It was the second match in succession that Sir Alex Ferguson had deployed
Scholes as a striker and, given the lack of a fourth forward in the squad, it will
almost certainly not be the last. Disorientated by the experiment last season,
Scholes deserves a long run up front if he is not to fall victim again to United's
policy of rotation. He appeared to be enjoying the advanced role last night
until he suffered a sprained ankle after an awkward turn. There was not a
United player who was not revelling in the chance to batter dazed opponents.
No sooner had the Hungarian team hacked the ball away than it would come
back twice as quickly and United's second goal came in the fifteenth minute
with unstoppable force. When Giggs was upended almost 30 yards out,
Beckham struck a free kick that flew into the top corner for what, even by his
standards, was a sensational goal.

Ahead on aggregate with less than a quarter of the match gone, United knew
that one more goal would make Zalaegerszeg's task impossible and it came
when Beckham whipped a low cross into Scholes. He appeared to lose the
ball under his feet, but a couple of ricochets carried him forward and he beat
Ilic with a low shot from six yards. Maintaining their momentum was never
going to be easy and it was almost another hour before United would score
again. They owed their fourth goal to the Portuguese referee, who wrongly
judged that Ilic had lunged at Van Nistelrooy and then compounded his error
by dismissing the former Charlton Athletic goalkeeper. During the wait for the
substitute goalkeeper to arrive, Forlán stood with the ball in his hands, but
Keane was not having any sentimental indulgence getting in the way of
victory. "Forlán does not need a penalty to score goals and maybe Keane was
taking my view on that," Ferguson said. "He will get chances to score and he
will score." Perhaps, but the ease with which Solskjaer added the fifth must
have made his duck even harder for Forlán to bear.