It was the perfect dress rehearsal for the impending Italian night when, Alex Ferguson suggested, Manchester United must give the performance of their young lives. No one on Saturday fluffed his lines, not even one of seven stand-ins. Nothing was going to rain on this United parade, especially not a Sheffield Wednesday side who were the weakest of sparring partners.
Ferguson announced afterwards that most of his preferred cast for Turin were in the pink of health, and that Peter Schmeichel and Andy Cole should be fit on Wednesday. "We're just waiting on Ryan Giggs," said the manager. "He's walking without crutches today. But he is doubtful." Otherwise there are no signs of battle fatigue as they approach the pivotal match of this season. Ferguson's confidence about overcoming Juventus, Europe's outstanding team of the 1990s, "is strengthened by the way we're playing. We know we're capable of doing it".
If Ferguson has a gut conviction about a unique treble, his head tells him Juventus are the greatest barrier in United's path. "We need a momentous performance; we need to hit the heights," he said. "I know that we've got to score but we'll do that with more control and patience."
Winning was certainly an easier task on Saturday. There was scarcely a Wednesday tackle of note in a contest without a booking, and the challenge of Danny Williams's team faded once United forged ahead when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer shot home with characteristic sharpness after a clever flick by Teddy Sheringham.
The former Tottenham and England striker revelled in his rare outing, scoring himself with a deft header as Solskjaer returned the compliment with a patient cross. Sheringham set up Paul Scholes for the third goal, after which United's shadow team toyed with their opponents without further reward. But Ferguson knows he faces a side of an utterly different stripe on Wednesday.
Man Utd: Van Der Gouw, G Neville, Stam (May 63), Brown, P Neville, Butt, Scholes, Keane (Greening 63), Blomqvist (Irwin 75), Sheringham, Solskjaer. Subs Not Used: Yorke, Beckham. Goals: Solskjaer 35, Sheringham 44, Scholes 62.
Sheffield Wed: Srnicek, Atherton, Thome, Walker, Hinchcliffe, Alexandersson (Scott 55), Jonk, Sonner, Rudi, Carbone, Booth (Cresswell 71). Subs Not Used: Pressman, Briscoe, Stefanovic.
Referee: N Barry (Scunthorpe).
