SOCCER Ajax Amsterdam 0 Manchester Utd 2:MANCHESTER UNITED'S battle was as much with themselves as with Ajax in the first leg of this Europa League tie. They would have felt a pang this week as the knock-out phase of the Champions League got under way without them. The opposition are just one part of a greater problem for United in a lesser tournament.
Summoning up the full intensity Alex Ferguson would expect was not easy to achieve. Ajax had not just home advantage but a genuine relish for this fixture and even the Europa League itself. Manager Frank de Boer set them out in a 4-1-4-1 formation but the transition to attack was smooth on occasion. United did not quell them until the winger Ashley Young opened the scoring after the interval.
A second goal arrived in the 85th minute, when Javier Hernandez forced a shot home after being picked out by Wayne Rooney. United’s frame had been suspect. It was puzzling, for instance, that Rio Ferdinand should duck and so leave goalkeeper David de Gea to thrust away a firm drive from Siem de Jong in the 32nd minute.
With half-time approaching Ferdinand’s focus was again in question as he made a challenge on Miralem Sulejmani that, slight as it was, invited the crowd to yell for a penalty. It could have been granted, although it may also be that contact had occurred a fraction outside the box.
This fixture, with such flickers of alarm, was experimental for United as they played in Europe for smaller stakes than usual.
Ferguson did aim to inject enterprise. His troupe had figures sure to catch the eye. This, after all, was Tom Cleverley’s return to the first team after injuring an ankle at Everton on October 29th. If there was any benefit at all to that absence it lay in the fact he was not tarnished by appearing in United’s hapless Champions League campaign that brought them to this tournament.
Ferguson at least pined for liveliness. Hernandez, often a substitute, started beside Rooney in attack, with each anticipating crosses from the wingers Nani and Young. The line-up as a whole was full of enterprising intentions. When it came to promoting the secondary tournament, United had done Uefa proud.
This was a tie that would have intrigued the two clubs as much as it irritated them. Given the grand history that distinguishes Ajax and United, the match smacked of a towering encounter, yet there was no escaping the truth that both had come no better than third in their respective Champions League groups. Even so, it would be rash to claim that each is in decline.
United are in hot pursuit of Manchester City at the head of the Premier League and a less effective Ajax have still had hints of encouragement. Real Madrid might have run amok in their group, but the Dutch side were only edged out of second place on goal difference by Olympique Lyon because the La Liga team completed the fixtures with a merciless 4-0 win in Amsterdam.
Ajax, with de Boer and his assistant Dennis Bergkamp in command, have concerns of greater moment than this European tie since the club lies sixth in the Eredivisie, eight points behind leaders PSV Eindhoven. Nonetheless, the encounter with United was an occasion in its own right that could release Ajax from the grind of the domestic programme. The way in which they took to the meeting with United compelled the visitors to search for more sharpness after the interval.
Ferguson would have aired some grievances in the dressing room. The tempo quickened and, even more pertinently, there was an enhanced intent to the work as Ajax were confined to their penalty area and its surrounds for much of the time.
Clustered around their own goalmouth, Ajax were running a risk that they were unlikely to survive. With 59 minutes gone, Nani’s cross from the right broke off the captain Jan Vertonghen and Young, coming off the other flank and into the centre of the penalty area, slotted the ball into the net.
It may appear arrogant to complain that the margin of victory was humdrum. In truth, United were generally circumspect and willing to let Ajax roll passes in front of them. That may have shown a respect for the opposition and the tournament, yet they would seldom be so sedate against Premier League opponents of greater means.
Ferguson and his men at least have their win as they wonder just what to make of the competition in which they find themselves.
Guardian Service
AJAX AMSTERDAM: Vermeer, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Anitas, Koppers (Boilesen, 63), Eriksen, de Jong, Aissatai, Sulejmani, Bulykin (van Rhinjn, 60), Ozbiliz (Lukoki, 80). Subs not used: Cillissen, Blind, Lodeiro, Thulanui Serero. Booked: Alderweireld, de Jong.
MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Fabio, Carrick, Nani, Young (Valencia, 76, Wellbeck, 86), Cleverley (Scholes, 61), Rooney, Hernandez. Subs not used: Amos, Smalling, Park Ji-sung, Pogba. Goals: Young, Hernandez. Booked: Fabio
Referee: G Rocchi(Italy)
