How Giggs powered United to Roma win

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had made it sound so easy. It was all about "taking our chances", he had said beforehand. And that is exactly what his team did in a terrific display, inspired largely by Ryan Giggs, which over 90 glorious minutes swept aside Roma and any doubts that United cannot stay the course this season.

Astounding win
Consecutive defeats by Roma and Portsmouth had seemed to knock United out of their stride at home and abroad, but the response from Old Trafford will send a shiver down the spine of future UEFA Champions League opponents, United breezing into the semi-finals with an astounding 7-1 win. If Liverpool, potential final rivals, had laid down a marker with their resounding victory at PSV Eindhoven, then United raised the stakes further with a success that said as much about character as it did skill.

Giggs inspiration
United had never previously won a UEFA Champions League tie after trailing from the first leg; and after going down 2-1 in Rome last week, their fans may have been expecting a nerve-wracking 90 minutes. The loss of the injured Gary Neville and the suspended Paul Scholes raised the pressure another notch, yet in their absence, Giggs took the captain's armband and ensured the Reds rose to the occasion.

Sole survivor
The only member of the 1999 UEFA Champions League-winning side in the starting XI here, Giggs had a hand in four of United's goals and set the tone and pace for the hosts until the tie was well out of Roma's reach. Whether it was turning defence to attack with a simple ball out from the edge of the area, or telling Darren Fletcher to take his time over a free-kick, the United veteran was in command.

Fluid interplay
Ostensibly playing just behind surprise starter Alan Smith, Giggs pulled the strings as United beat Roma at their own game. The Italian team, who had conceded just five goals in the competition, played with one up front supported by three attacking midfielders. United did the same, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Giggs interchanging with fluidity to breach Roma's defences time and again. Michael Carrick opened the floodgates on 11 minutes, before Giggs fed Smith for the second.

Giggs largesse
Two minutes later, Giggs drifted right and used the space to drill in a low cross that Rooney gleefully touched in. It was Giggs's short pass that prompted Ronaldo to run at the Roma rearguard for the fourth a minute before the break. The Portugal winger again benefited from the 33-year-old's largesse four minutes into the second half, when he tapped in another pinpoint Giggs delivery. When Carrick fired in the sixth on the hour, Sir Alex had seen enough, calling his skipper in for a deserved rest.

Memorable night
By the time Patrice Evra hit United's seventh, they were heading for uncharted territory. Only once have United scored more goals in the European Champion Clubs' Cup, and you have to go back a long way to find the match: a 10-0 demolition of Anderlecht in their first home game in the competition on 26 September 1956. That was at Manchester City FC's Maine Road stadium. It is fair to say Old Trafford had never seen a night like this.