‘Sir Alex Ferguson may not have known the opposition but at least he could recognise his beloved Manchester United last night. Gone was their recent lethargy and profligacy. Banished were the nerves.
Inspired by Ryan Giggs and then Juan Sebastian Veron, both of whom scored, United opened their Champions League Group F account with this home banker of three points.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud Van Nistelrooy also scored against busy but limited and defensively flawed opponents. Even Diego Forlan found the net for the first time in his 27 appearances, a moment late on that drew a deafening chorus of approval from Old Trafford.
But the man who made it possible was Giggs, who graced the game for almost an hour with a sustained application of skills. Giggs can drift in and out of matches but here he dominated, motivating, challenging and creating in equal measure.
United had needed inspiring, needed someone to show the team's ability to rewrite the "crumbling empire" headlines. United had particularly needed someone to step forward and take responsibility when Maccabi seized an early lead through the confident Katan.
Initially nervous, subdued even, Old Trafford looked for a catalyst and it came in the skilful, flowing form of Giggs, whose influence was phenomenal as United recovered from 1-0 down to go 4-1 up within the hour.
Giggs scored, helped create Solskjaer's goal and stretched Maccabi's midfield and defence so much that acres of space opened for Veron and Van Nistelrooy to make it 4-1. Giggs, his match-winning work done, was promptly withdrawn by Ferguson.
Only one person could have silenced Maccabi's gloriously noisy and colourful supporters; it was that blur of sinews and skills in the United No 11 shirt. Giggs was terrific, winning the ball with a hunger lacking in the team of late; one of Giggs' sliding tackles, coming in low and hooking the ball away with all the stealth of a high-speed pickpocket, must have reminded older fans of George Best.
Again echoing the great man, Giggs attacked with flair and speed, the ball dancing to his every command. After Katan had exploited slack United marking to place a low, eighth-minute shot past Fabien Barthez, Giggs led the fightback, reviving United spectacularly. David Beckham had the arm-band but Giggs, floating like a butterfly, stinging like a hornet, wore the mantle of genuine authority, equalising within minutes.’