‘The case for Manchester United's defence was indefensible
last night. Sir Alex Ferguson's players left Stuttgart with
heavy legs and even heavier hearts after a lamentable
display which Rio Ferdinand, in particular, will want to
forget, one which says little for their hopes of returning
to Germany for the European Cup final next May.
‘Ferdinand was badly at fault for Imre Szabics's opening
goal and partly culpable, with Mikael Silvestre and John
O'Shea, when Kevin Kuranyi made it 2-0. A traumatic evening
for the England international was summed up by the reckless
foul that conceded the penalty from which Stuttgart could
have spared themselves a nerve-shredding finale had Tim
Howard not saved from Fernando Meira.
‘Ferguson will reflect that his players were
uncharacteristically slipshod in defence and strangely
subdued in attack.
‘Even when Ruud van Nistelrooy brought them back into the
game, having rediscovered the art of scoring from the
penalty spot, their creative juices seemed to have dried up
and their desperate attempts to scramble a late equaliser
fashioned few chances.
‘Ryan Giggs faded after a bright start, Paul Scholes was
unusually subdued and Cristiano Ronaldo, despite seeing a
lot of the ball, found the Stuttgart right-back Andreas
Hinkel, a 21-year-old newcomer to Germany's national team, a
resilient and frustrating opponent.
‘Ronaldo's dive to win the penalty, duping the referee into
thinking he had been flattened by the goalkeeper Timo
Hildebrand, was a shabby moment for a noble club.’
Telegraph:
‘Sir Alex Ferguson might be planning to stay on at
Manchester United long into this decade, and last night he
was given a reminder of the work that awaits him.
‘If his defence is not sound enough to keep out German
football's latest Champions League arrivistes, then they
certainly will not be enough for the cream of the Continent.
‘Rio Ferdinand looked as though he had an injury as he
limped off 10 minutes from the end - which will concern
Ferguson a little. But of greater worry to the United
manager will be the defender's part in conceding one goal
and giving away a penalty as United fell to only their
fourth defeat in 28 previous Champions matches.
‘Stuttgart they pride themselves on keeping it tight at the
back - so much so that in 735 minutes of German domestic
football they have not conceded a single goal this season.
‘And it showed too last night in the brusque defence that
Stuttgart offered to United's early raids. Ruud van
Nistelrooy had to wait five minutes before he was allowed
the ball at his feet, and Cristiano Ronaldo found his
corridor down the right wing decisively closed by right-back
Andreas Hinkel, the young German international.
‘United simply could not locate van Nistelrooy among an
implacable collective of German muscle. And as Stuttgart
dared themselves to go forward, they began to look
dangerous.
‘United were sleekly taken apart twice in the first six
minutes, and both times the home team had the inattention of
Ferguson's centre-backs to thank.
‘First of all it was Ferdinand who was completely wrong-
footed after Gary Neville lost a header to Hleb on the
right. Horst Heldt dummied the loose ball, and Ferdinand
found himself a poor second as Szabics closed in and side-
footed past Howard.
‘United were punished a second time by Stuttgart's Brazilian-
born German international Kevin Kuranyi just moments later.
This time it was Mikael Silvestre who was unable to clear
the ball from under his feet as Szabics closed in and
threaded the ball through to Kuranyi, who chipped Howard.
‘On 65 minutes Giggs whipped in a ball from the left, Hinkel
touched it on to the post and, as the ball bounced back,
Gary Neville inexplicably failed to score.
‘As goalkeeper Hildebrand attempted to retrieve the ball
from Ronaldo's feet, the Portugal international collapsed in
the penalty area with very little contact from his opponent.
As Ferguson had said last week there was only one man to
take the spot-kick. And Van Nistelrooy's shot almost lifted
the posts from the ground as it hit the net.’
The Times:
‘The defensive failings that have proved Manchester United’s
undoing in their past two Champions League campaigns
returned to haunt Sir Alex Ferguson on a chastening evening
that raised questions over his summer transfer activity.
'Sensing that the six goals they conceded to Real Madrid in
last season’s quarter-finals represented a freak occurrence,
the United manager neglected his defence during his summer
rebuilding operation, content to paper over cracks that VfB
Stuttgart exploited in ruthless fashion last night.
‘Ferguson, to judge from his mood during the post-match
press conference, had left the culprits in no doubt about
how he felt.
‘It is a defeat that sent United from first to third place
in group E before their two matches against Rangers, the
first at Ibrox on October 22. United will still be
considered favourites to progress to the knockout phase, but
Stuttgart and Rangers have proved that they are not there
merely to make up the numbers.’
Indie:
‘It is fair to say that "You'll Never Walk Alone", the
battle hymn of Liverpool, Celtic and, curiously, Stuttgart
is not Sir Alex Ferguson's favourite song.
‘His team, its frailties against high-quality opposition in
the Champions' League again ruthlessly exposed, left the
pitch with the tune pounding from the stands. The previous
afternoon, the Manchester United manager had stated his
belief that he would regain the European Cup, but the night
which followed demonstrated that unless there is a radical
overhaul of their defence, those ambitions may be unrealised
even if Ferguson extends his reign over Old Trafford for
another four years.
‘Ferguson was unforgiving in his assessment of a performance
which displayed all the defensive naivety that characterised
their first displays in the Champions' League when they wore
the same black away shirts.
‘Under their coach, Felix Magath, Stuttgart adopt a tight
diamond formation. Usually, it is an industrial diamond
rather than a glittering gemstone but United discovered that
it possesses a hard cutting-edge.’