United edge close affair

Sir Alex Ferguson marked his 1,000th game with a 2-1 success over Lyon.

Ruud van Nistelrooy proved United's matchwinner in the second half after Roy Carroll had gifted Lyon a leveller after Gary Neville's opener.

Ferguson could be forgiven for having hoped for more accommodating opposition to celebrate his remarkable milestone than Lyon and one suspects Old Trafford will not host many better sides this season.

From the onset, Paul Le Guen's tidy outfit showed both confidence and style, with the powerful pairing of Michael Essien and Mahamadou Diarra allowing Juninho Pernambucano the licence to conduct from the midfield.

As early as the third minute the outstanding Essien had fired a warning against Rio Ferdinand that went behind for a corner.

Lyon were inventive in possession but United too, on the counter, looked likely to find an opener.

Ronaldo was the first to raise Old Trafford to its feet when he saw an effort blocked at the last and then Rooney took possession, cut inside and fired a daisy-cutter that smacked against the Lyon post.

With the game settled into a controlled pattern of attack and counter, Neville brought a sense of urgency to the proceedings when after playing a neat one-two with Ronaldo, he fed a marauding Alan Smith down the right flank.

The England man, employed in midfield in Giggs' absence, steered in a wicked ball and after an untidy scramble, Neville continued his run to ram the ball past Nicolas Puydebois from six yards.

Ronaldo failed to find a finish to match his dancing feet and then Rooney screwed a half volley wide after an athletic leap from Smith had played him in.

In a brighter mood than in his last England performance, Rooney's presence became more prominent and he was unfortunate to see his smart shot drift wide after a sustained period of United possession.

However, United's ascendancy would prove short lived and with ten minutes of the half remaining, Pierre-Alain Frau was left to rue a glorious chance squandered when he could only fire at Roy Carroll when perfectly found by Juninho's threaded pass.

Essien could have diverted in when left free from a Lyon set-piece but it was Diarra who had Carroll blushing, when his thirty-yard effort somehow squirmed past the Northern Ireland international for the game's leveller.

Ferguson has not survived 1,000 games at the helm without having a tidy line of half-time speeches and in the second period, United emerged with a renewed vigour that suggests his famous hairdryer treatment may have been employed.

Substitute Wes Brown, on for the injured Neville, found himself in unfamiliar surroundings when he found space in the Lyon box and after a neat dummy, he worked the angle to shoot but the ball fizzed wide.

It was to be another United defender, Ferdinand, that would provide the cross that enabled Ruud van Nistelrooy to reassert United's advantage.

After Lyon failed to clear a corner, the England international showed the composure of a midfielder when he turned adroitly to cross for the prolific Dutchman - who stooped to head home his eighth goal of the competition at the far post.

Van Nistelrooy could have added another when he took an exquisite cross field pass from Rooney on his chest but his deft lob only found the outside of Puydebois' far post.

With the home side in the ascendancy, Ronaldo fired a fierce strike into the throat of the Lyon custodian, while Juninho will be disappointed he could only float a free-kick over when well placed.

For the remainder of the contest, the pace and quality remained but chances were reduced to a premium, with United holding firm in a performance that will have encouraged Ferguson on such a significant evening.

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Manchester United	Team Statistics	Olympique Lyon
2	Goals	1
1	1st Half Goals	1
3	Shots on Target	2
10	Shots off Target	8
4	Blocked Shots	6
5	Corners	6
13	Fouls	16
3	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
78.9	Passing Success	76.4
46	Tackles	27
63	Tackles Success	70.4
51.1	Possession	48.9
51.1	Territorial Advantage	48.9