A FREAKISHLY WARM EVENING
If the freakishly warm evening initially helped the Greeks to feel at home, the sight of United in all blue, when Olympiakos' black strip should not have necessitated a change, made for an unfamiliar scene. Sir Alex Ferguson had been forced to omit Ruud van Nistelrooy because of his hamstring problem, but even with only one out-and-out striker, his team poured forward and had all but wrapped up the points by half-time.
Having never won away in the Champions' League in 19 previous attempts, Olympiakos needed to score first to preserve a modicum of confidence. They had a chance to do so in the 12th minute when Predrag Djordjevic's left-wing cross offered Par Zetterberg a free header from six yards, but the Swede mysteriously allowed the ball to pass over him. His wastefulness was put into sharp relief when United struck after 19 minutes. An exhilarating flurry of passes worked the ball up the right, from where Solskjaer crossed for Giggs to fire home, left-footed, after his first shot came back to him off the keeper. Seven minutes later Beckham picked out Veron surging through the centre. An exquisite pass demanded a finish to match, and the Argentinian obliged by chipping deftly over the advancing Eleftheropoulos.
Ze Elias, a gifted player who at one point unleashed a shot which dipped narrowly over Fabien Barthez's bar, also has a tawdry disciplinary history. When his volatility resurfaced just before half-time, it turned an uphill task into an impossible one for Olympiakos. After a sudden spate of three yellow cards in as many minutes, starting with Veron, the Brazilian scythed down his fellow South American. Veron had seen it coming and almost leapt out of the way only for Ze Elias to catch his standing foot.
On the hour he curled in a marvellous cross which was met by Solskjaer, forcing an agile save from Eleftheropoulos. But the goalkeeper was helpless when danger came from the opposite wing in the 66th minute. Once more, Giggs benefited from a lucky break, his attempted cross clipping Giorgios Anatolakis before sneaking between keeper and near post.
With 13 minutes remaining, Paul Scholes set up Solskjaer, who shot United's fourth and paved the way for the introduction of substitutes, no doubt with the Premiership firmly in Ferguson's mind.
And The Guardian's view
By comprehensively outplaying Olympiakos, inspired by a renascent Juan Sebastian Veron and Ryan Giggs, United all but guaranteed their qualification for the Champions League's second phase. United turned out in their blue away kit after the French referee Gilles Veissiere ruled a red stripe running down the side of the visitors' black shirts would clash with the usual home tops. Scholes, at long last, is beginning to show the signs that he is finally acclimatising to his more advanced role and it was his intuitive pass that was the catalyst for the first goal.
The rejuvenation of one of their most potent attackers has been a significant feature of United's gradual return to form and Giggs, with a level of self-belief that was scarcely evident just a couple of weeks ago, would represent a constant menace to their opponents with his direct running and penetration. Earlier in the season, it is a fair assumption that he would never have tried the showboating with Veron that sliced open the right side of the Greeks during one particularly sumptuous attack. The same applies to Veron but this was one of his more aesthetic nights and the goal with which he doubled United's lead may not be bettered throughout this season's competition.
One moment of South American impudence was followed by a piece of South American brutalism. Veron's imperiousness had clearly been noted and, as the opening half wound up, the Brazilian midfielder Ze Elias scythed into him with a studs-up lunge that, had it properly connected, might have eliminated the danger once and for all. The red card flourished by the referee was thoroughly deserved and, with it, any lingering hopes among the Greek camp were extinguished.