Utd’s defence exposed

LONDON – Manchester United’s pulsating 2-2 draw with free-running Porto on Tuesday was everything the Champions League aspires to, though United manager Alex Ferguson will wish it had been a more typical first-leg clash.

Porto deserve enormous credit for going to Old Trafford with a real willingness to attack and they should really have won the match such was their dominance in the first half.
Even after Carlos Tevez had put United ahead five minutes from the end, Porto still refused to sit back and hope their solitary away goal would prove key.
Instead, they poured forward to grab the equaliser through substitute Mariano, and that was the least they deserved.
United now travel to Portugal on April 15 probably needing to win, something no English team has managed in 11 previous attempts, though a high-scoring draw would also be enough to send them through.
‘You have to think the last goal was one we could not afford to lose,’ said Ferguson. It was a terrible goal to give away when you are 2-1 up and seeing the game out.’
United, who have looked rocky at the back in recent weeks as they lost successive league games to Liverpool and Fulham and needed a stoppage-time goal to beat Aston Villa 3-2, were again all at sea in the absence of the injured Rio Ferdinand.
Johnny Evans, who has generally been an impressive stand-in at centre back for much of the season, had a night to forget and will be relieved that his catalogue of errors did not lead to more Porto goals.
United’s midfield were ineffective for long spells, producing little in attack and looking ragged in preventing Porto’s counter-attacks from ripping through the home side’s deep-lying defence.
It was all the more surprising coming only a few weeks after they were breaking records for consecutive clean sheets with Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic being compared favourably with the great Old Trafford centre-back partnerships.
– Nampa-AFP