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24/11/2007 19:01, Report by Ian Baker

Boss: I had to rest Ron

Sir Alex had no choice but to leave out Cristiano Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic for the Reds' trip to Bolton on Saturday.

The pair now face a race against time to be fit for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.

Fans were puzzled Portuguese winger Ronaldo was nowhere to be seen at the Reebok Stadium, whle Nemanja Vidic also missed the match through injury.

“Ronaldo had a little strain on the inside of his thigh and Nemanja [Vidic] missed Serbia's game on Wednesday while on international duty,” United boss Sir Alex Ferguson told MUTV. “We’ll see what they are like for Tuesday but they were not fit for Saturday.”

Even without Ronaldo, Vidic and other stars like Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes, Sir Alex believed United still had a good enough squad to beat Bolton.

“I think we had enough players to win that game, there's no question about that,” he said. “But Bolton did make a lot of chances and they worked really hard for their victory. You cannot deny them that.

“We didn't make enough chances to say we deserved to win the game. If we had scored we would probably have won it but we needed to score.”

While obviously disappointed with the result, Ferguson urged his players to bounce back immediately.

“We have to react to losing the game. It’s in the history and nature of our club and we have the right set of players to do that.”

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27/11/2007 07:20, Report by Nick Coppack

Forward thinking

Sir Alex faces a selection headache as United welcome Sporting Lisbon to Old Trafford on Tuesday.

"I'll make one or two changes," the Reds' manager told Manchester United Radio ahead of the game. "Players like Darren Fletcher and John O'Shea need some minutes on the clock but my biggest concern is what to do up front.

"Louis Saha played a full game on Saturday, his first full 90 minutes since last December. That was a big test for him. It was an awful lot to ask of him but we're delighted he got through the game."

Ferguson must now decide whether to call upon the Frenchman for a second time in four days. The only other fit first-choice striker, Carlos Tevez, has also been put through a punishing schedule in the last week, travelling to South America and back for Argentina's World Cup qualifiers.

At this stage, Sir Alex may not be sure who'll play up front on Tuesday night, but he does know Sporting Lisbon will be tough opponents.

"Sporting will come to win," Sir Alex said. "They have to win in order to catch Roma. We have to make sure we're on top of our game and use the atmosphere we know we can generate at Old Trafford. We have an opportunity to ensure we finish top of the group so we must take that chance."

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27/11/2007 07:49, Report by Ben Hibbs

Exciting times ahead - Fletch

Darren Fletcher believes United are on the brink of greatness, and he is desperate to play his part in helping the Reds achieve it.

Sir Alex Ferguson recently claimed that he now presides over the strongest squad he has ever had at Old Trafford, and Fletcher says the players are keen to live up to the United manager’s expectations.

“The club has a great tradition of winning trophies and the players in this group want to make sure we show we’re capable of doing it again,” Fletcher said.

“That’s the great thing about being at United. There are huge expectations to win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. That’s what the players are here for, that’s certainly why I’m here.”

The Reds went agonisingly close to adding the FA Cup to last season’s Premiership title. United were also one step away from reaching the Champions League final, only to be stopped by the eventual winners, AC Milan, who geared all the efforts on that one competition.

“Last year we were very unlucky,” admits Fletcher. “We lost in the FA Cup final and against Milan in the Champions League semi final. With a little bit of luck it could have gone differently. Now we’re looking to use the experience of last year – with the addition of some new players – to push on this season. There are exciting times ahead at this club.”

Personally, Fletcher has endured a tough season so far. His only two starts this term have come in the Champions League, and he looks set for a third against Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday. In a squad game, however, patience is prerequisite.

“My two starts have come in the Champions League, it’s a great stage to
play on. I want to play in every game, but we’ve got some great midfielders at this club and their form has been good. The manager has had a lot of decisions to make. You can’t take out players that are in good form. I’ve also had one or two injuries at the wrong time, perhaps when I’d have been given chances. Fair play to the likes of Anderson, he has been fantastic for someone so young and so new to the club.

“But it’s a long season and I just have to keep myself fit and take every chance I get. We saw last season that injuries and suspensions take their toll. We got to a point where we had 12 or 13 players in a team going for three trophies. I know my time will come. Hopefully we’ll be going for those three trophies again this season and I’ll play my part.”

It could be a daunting task trying to force your way into two central midfield positions with Owen Hargreaves, Michael Carrick, Anderson – and soon – Paul Scholes all vying for places. But it’s a challenge that Darren relishes.

“You expect that challenge,” he adds. “It’s competitive every day in training. We’re all striving to start matches, it brings out the best in everyone. Competition is good for, you need to know there’s somebody on the bench that desperately wants to take your place. And that can only be good for Manchester United.”

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26/11/2007 13:24, Report by Ben Hibbs

Ronaldo set to start

Cristiano Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic are both fit to face Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday night in United's penultimate Champions League Group F match.

The pair were key absentees in the 1-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers at the weekend, but both trained with the rest of the squad at Carrington on Monday and Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed they are in contention for a starting berth against the Portuguese side.

"Vidic and Ronaldo are both fit," he said at his pre-match press conference. "They'll be in the squad for Tuesday night."

Sir Alex hinted that Portuguese stars Ronaldo and Nani should both start, while Darren Fletcher, John O'Shea and Tomasz Kuszczak are also likely to make the first eleven. But the Reds manager insisted he won't be making too many changes.

United have won all four matches in Group F so far and are assured a last 16 place. But Sir Alex will be keen to secure top spot and a seeded place in the knockout round draw. The Reds boss is also aware that Sporting can still qualify if they better AS Roma's result in Kyiv on Tuesday night and then beat the Ukrainians in their last game.

"The incentives to win are huge for us," said Sir Alex. "If we win we've won the group and we'll be seeded for the knockout stage. That's important. We've also got an important game against Liverpool straight after the Roma game.

"Beating Sporting would allow us to [rest players] against Roma. But, our next two results matter to Sporting and Roma, so we have to be fair to both teams and we will be determined to win on Tuesday."

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26/11/2007 13:42, Report by Nick Coppack

Danny's living the dream

Danny Simpson thought his United team-mates were pulling his leg when they told him he'd be handed a first Champions League start against Dynamo Kyiv at Old Trafford.

Simpson, who hopes to be involved again in Tuesday's clash with Sporting Lisbon, told Manchester United Radio of the moments leading up to his impressive showing on Matchday 4.

"At the pre-match meal some of the lads were telling me I was playing, but I just thought they were winding me up," he said.

"Then, 45 minutes before the match, the gaffer [Sir Alex] gave his team talk and I was in it. After that, he and Carlos [Queiroz] came up to me and told me to do my normal job and go out and enjoy myself."

That instruction was perhaps the easiest for Simpson to follow. Now 20, the Salford-born defender came into the United set-up when he was just 10 and has been eyeing a place in the first team ever since.

"I loved every minute of that match," he said, recalling the Reds' emphatic 4-0 win. "I was nervous for the first 10 minutes but then I settled down and I could relax and enjoy it. It was a good game to be involved in. Dynamo Kyiv aren't the best team in the group but we still needed the three points.

"I used to go to the stadium as a boy but to be there on the pitch and have everyone watching me is a great feeling. I've been here a long time and I'm finally on the fringes. I don't want this to go away. I'm loving it at the moment and I want to stick around for a long time."
With the Reds already through to the knockout stage and Sir Alex pledging to make changes, Simpson may be afforded another chance to impress on Tuesday night.

"The gaffer will want the team to bounce back from the Bolton loss with a good performance and whoever goes out there will want to win," Simpson said. "Hopefully I'll play some part in that. He gave a few of the young lads a chance to go out and prove ourselves last time and luckily things went very well."

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27/11/2007 09:00, Report by Steve Bartram

MU Radio is 400 tonight

On the day of Manchester United Radio's 400th show, Matt Proctor, the voice of the official club radio station, looks back on over 13 years of broadcasting memories...

When the station started out in March 1994 did you expect to still be going after all these years?
Oh yeah, right from the word go we had tremendous response from people coming to the game and listening at home. We still get more dedications than we can cope with and we're inundated with entries when we have competitions. I always had a good feeling about the radio station from the word go. If you provide a quality show and feature interesting interviews then people will listen and stay loyal.

Has the job changed much since you started out?
No, I don't suppose it has. We set ourselves certain standards when we started the radio station before we went on air. Without sounding blasé, I think we've maintained them, otherwise we would have lost listeners. We try to be a relaxed radio station, obviously totally biased towards United and we make no excuses for that. I have one heck of a good crew who, with one exception, have been with us since day one. We know how each other works and it seems to gel and fit together.

How do you find interviewing the players and coaching staff?
The club have been great from the beginning. I remember going down to see Sir Alex Ferguson – or just Alex Ferguson as he was then – and he asked me what I would be needing from him. I said '10 minutes of your time, a couple of days before each home game'. He said, 'No problem, 7:30 in the morning', and that's been the system ever since, and the players have been great too.

Have you ever fallen foul of their trickery?
Oh yeah. On one occasion around three or four seasons ago, I'd already done my 7:30 interview with the Boss and I was waiting for another interview. Whoever it was came in and we sat down for the interview, I then discovered that my microphone had gone missing. I searched high and low, all around Carrington before someone took pity on me and told me where it was. Without naming names, it was Brian McClair who had hidden it.

Any memorable guests?
One of the very first guests we had was the late Les Sealey. We were in our old, smaller studio and as Les rose from his chair at the end of the interview, he hit his head on the low ceiling. We then made sure he was okay, laughed it off and joked that he'd better not have a headache in case he had to come on. Sure enough – and how often are substitute goalkeepers required? – he had to go on the field for Peter Schmeichel. I spoke to him afterwards and he admitted he had a rotten headache throughout the match.

Has anything ever gone horribly wrong?
As everybody knows, there's an electric railway which runs along the side of Old Trafford, and during one game there was a flashover between the train and our aerial. One second we were broadcasting, the next second there was nothing. Our engineers had to hurtle up the M6 from Birmingham and they got us back on air for the start of the second half, and we did manage to broadcast for the rest of the show. The other occasion was when the main power cable to Old Trafford was severed before the West Ham game in 1999. All the stadium lights went off, including ours. After a frantic night of trying to find out what was going on, it was eventually sorted and the game went ahead with a very small delay.

Who's your favourite interviewee?
I always enjoy my interviews with Sir Alex, without exception. He makes me feel very welcome, he always finds the time and I genuinely believe he's the only man with 25 hours in a day –  I don't know how he does it! Aside from the Boss, I had the great pleasure of interviewing (Olympic gold medallists) Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent – they filled our studio – and Tony Blair just before he became Prime Minister, which was very interesting. But if I had to pick one then I'd have to say Kevin Keegan when he was England manager. He was due to select a squad the following day. Although he resisted our attempts to find out how many United players were in it, he was so relaxed and just a really, really nice guy. He was just one of the lads while he was sat behind the microphone and I've always regretted not getting him back in again.

Does any particular game stand out as the most memorable for you?
There's only one for me, and that was in May 1999 when we had to beat Spurs here to win our fifth Premier League title – the first time it could be won at Old Trafford. We came into Old Trafford very early that day and the hairs were standing up not just on the back of my neck, but all over my head. It was unbelievable. We went through every emotion during that programme, from hope to anticipation, then despair when Spurs scored, more hope when Beckham equalised and then anticipation again when Andy Cole put us ahead, before fulfilment at the final whistle. Only at that moment in time, when the first trophy was in the bag, did people begin to realise the Treble was on. We all know about Wembley and Barcelona coming and going, but I shall never forget that programme on May 16, 1999. When we came off air that night, having done the entire show, we were good for nothing, just total wrecks – but it was certainly a day I'll never forget.

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26/11/2007 08:38, Report by Ben Hibbs

Tevez to go permanent?

Sir Alex Ferguson wants to extend Carlos Tevez's stay at Old Trafford.

The energetic forward has become a popular figure at United since joining in the summer.

The 23-year-old's existing loan contract will expire at the end of next season. But Sir Alex is hopeful of making the deal permanent, and he believes the fee is a bargain.

"There is no question about his long-term future here. David Gill has spoken to his agent and told him we are very happy with him," Sir Alex told Setanta.

"The fee is in place. I won't tell you what it is but it is still cheap. I want to make his happen. He has impressed everyone with his appetite for the game.

"He'll get me 15 goals this season and what's more they will be important goals."

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26/11/2007 07:08, Report by Gemma Thompson

Giggs backs Nani to shine

Ryan Giggs is backing Nani to follow in Cristiano Ronaldo's footsteps and become a force to be reckoned with in the game.

The 21-year winger joined the Reds in the summer from Sporting Lisbon and has made an impressive start to his United career.

He has made 17 appearances so far this season netting two goals, the most important of which was a 20-yard thunderbolt against Tottenham which sealed United's first win of the campaign back in August. Giggs says Nani has settled into life at Old Trafford well and is backing him to make his mark over the coming seasons.

"We’ve always had a great tradition at this club with wingers and hopefully Nani can develop in the way Cristiano has and learn about the game and keep getting better," Giggs told ManUtd.com.

"He’s got great quality and energy and he can score and make goals, so he’s got the makings of becoming a really good player."

As one of the elder statesmen of the United squad, Giggs insists he is doing his utmost to help all the young players develop their skills.

"It's important to help them develop and it’s something I benefited from as a young player," says the winger, who turns 34 on Thursday.

"I was lucky enough to be surrounded by so many established pros, like Robbo [Bryan Robson], Brucey [Steve Bruce], Brian McClair and Mark Hughes, when I first broke into the team and I relied on them.

"You take on a different role as you get older and you try and pass your experience on to the younger lads and show leadership qualities on and off the pitch."

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Papers: Veloso's mission
27/11/2007 09:27

Veloso aiming to win over Sir Alex
United target Miguel Veloso will face the Premier League champions for Sporting Lisbon at Old Trafford on Tuesday night having declared that he would love a move to the club. Holding midfielder Veloso has been earmarked as a potential long-term replacement for Paul Scholes, with United assistant manager Carlos Queiroz last night admitting the player is on the club's hit-list. "It is impossible to ignore good players and we are following the development of some Portuguese players. One is Veloso," revealed Queiroz. "It would be ridiculous not to. Players like Veloso are on the list but maybe not a priority at the moment. If Scholes, Michael Carrick, Owen Hargreaves or Anderson leaves the club one day then it is true that a player like Miguel Veloso would be a priority." Veloso added: "My dream is to play in the Premier League and, if possible, for Manchester United. I will wait for the end of the season for any solution to what has been happening and see if an offer finally arrives. But to play for this club would be sensational. It would be nearly impossible for me to reject this option."
Ian Ladyman, Daily Mail

Ahead of United's penultimate Champions League Group F clash with Sporting at Old Trafford, Sir Alex has warned his young players need to win more silverware before they can be regarded as ‘great’.

Meanwhile, the United boss could be banned from the touchline for United’s clash at Liverpool next month after being charged with using abusive and insulting words towards referee Mark Clattenburg during Saturday's defeat at Bolton. If he is found guilty, the first game of a possible three-match touchline ban will come against United’s Kop rivals on 16 December.

The Daily Mirror features quotes from Carlos Tevez who reveals how Thierry Henry tried to persuade him to join Arsenal instead of the Reds.
Round up by Gemma Thompson

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26/11/2007 10:37, Report by Ben Hibbs

Sporting stutter

Sporting Lisbon continued their indifferent Portuguese Liga form with a 1-1 draw against mid-table Leixoes SC.

United's Group F opponents at Old Trafford on Tuesday have won only once in the last four matches and remain six points off league leaders FC Porto and five adrift of second-placed Benfica.

They are also expected to be without Yannick Djalo for the trip to Manchester.

The 21-year-old striker has appeared in all four of Sporting's Group F matches so far, but is struggling with a thigh strain.

"He's undergoing treatment and conditioning training," the Lisbon club said late last week. "We expect him to resume training next week."

Sporting are currently third in Group F, three points behind AS Roma and must equal or better the result of the Italians, who travel to Dynamo Kyiv.

Manager FactfileName: Paulo Bento
Age: 38
Manager since: 2005

Playing history: Bento plied his trade as a defensive midfielder for Benfica, Real Oviedo and Sporting Lisbon, where he finished his career. He also won 35 international caps.

Coaching career: After retiring aged 35 in 2004, he became Sporting youth coach. Then, following Jose Pesseiro's sacking in 2005, he became head coach, where he focused on using young players from the Academy. In the last two seasons, Bento has taken The Lions to consecutive second-place finishes in the Portuguese Liga.

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27/11/2007 20:29, Report by Steve Bartram

Ronny: We've got what it takes

Cristiano Ronaldo feels that, having won all their Champions League fixtures so far this season, United are showing that they have the wherewithal to win the competition for a third time.
On Tuesday evening, the Portuguese winger hit an injury-time winner against Sporting Lisbon to give United 15 points from their opening five Group F games, and Ronaldo is already relishing next year's second round matches.
"It's fantastic, I think we're in a good way," he told MUTV. "We've won all our games and we're playing well. We play the way we like to see Manchester play and in the second round I hope we do the same job. I think we have the team, group and coaches, everything to win the Champions League."
Having deliberately failed to celebrate his winner on Matchday 1 against former side Sporting, Ronaldo couldn't let his dramatic free-kick go without recognition at Old Trafford.
"Anderson caught me and told me to do something for my mum, my family and I said ok," he said. "But my conscience is still the same and the people will understand.
"I always try to score, and I am happy to score again - but not just because it's Sporting. I said before, the people of Sporting respect me and I respect Sporting, but my colours now are red and I feel that's for good."

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27/11/2007 20:26, Report by Adam Bostock

Boss: Tevez tipped the balance

Carlos Tevez came off the bench to save United's 100 per cent Champions League record on Tuesday night, to the relief of his manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Reds were heading towards defeat and therefore a difficult final group match in Rome until the Argentine striker entered the fray as a half-time substitute. Ryan Giggs also came on to help turn the tide against a Sporting Lisbon side fighting to stay in the competition.

"The substitutes brought better impetus, better rhythm and more speed to our game and we looked more like ourselves," Sir Alex told MUTV.

"I think Tevez made the difference. Ryan’s experience helps of course, and he showed great confidence and composure on the ball. But Tevez was the one who kept running at them, turning them and moving all the time. He became a handful for them."

Cristiano Ronaldo was also a handful against his former club - but only after Tevez and Giggs joined him on the pitch. The first half was forgettable for all those in red as Sporting took a shock lead through Abel's stunning shot from a crossing position on the right wing.

"If you don’t exert your influence at home in Europe then you can leave yourself open to embarrassment," said Sir Alex.

"The goal we lost was a bit bizarre - I think it was bad defending by us - and I think it gave them a real foot in the game. I just felt there was no impetus in our game, our possession of the ball wasn’t great and I felt I needed to make changes at half-time."

By full-time, United had the maximum 15 points from five matches thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's glorious free kick goal. Without it, the Reds would have needed to avoid defeat by two goals in Rome in order to keep top spot in Group F and a favourable seeding in the last 16 draw.

"If (we had drawn and) Roma had beaten us 2-0 over there, they would have won the group and we couldn’t afford that.

"Cristiano’s strike in the third minute of injury time was very welcome and a fantastic hit. He’s done it time and time again. But he shows great respect to his old club (Sporting Lisbon) and quite rightly too because he was brought up by them since he was a little kid. He owes them a lot."

After the toothless defeat at Bolton, things are looking up again on United's attacking front. Sir Alex is backing Ronaldo to beat his goals tally of last season - "He’s got all the ammunition to be a top goal scorer" - and looking forward to welcoming back Wayne Rooney at home to Fulham next Monday.

"Wayne should be back," confirmed Sir Alex.

"He’s been training well for the last couple of days. I think he’ll be back."

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27/11/2007 20:40, Report by Steve Bartram

Report: United 2 Sporting 1

Cristiano Ronaldo was the match-winner against former side Sporting Lisbon for the second time this season, firing home a stunning injury-time free kick as United came from behind to maintain their 100 per cent record in this season's Champions League.

The Reds had seemed set to make do with a solitary point, having drawn level through Carlos Tevez's second-half strike after Sporting defender Abel had given the visitors a shock lead after 21 minutes.

The result means United are now guaranteed to progress to the knockout stages as Group F winners, regardless of the result in next month's group finale against second-placed Roma.
Although qualification was already ensured, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a strong side, and started the match with a 4-3-3 formation with spearhead Louis Saha flanked by Nani and Ronaldo, both lining up for the second time this season against their former side.
It was the two Sporting old-boys who were involved in United’s early attacking passages, but both spurned half-openings when there were other more viable options.
Ronaldo impudently created an opening for Louis Saha with a delightful backheeled pass, but the Frenchman’s low right-footed shot arced wide of the far post. It was United’s clearest opening in the first half, and they would rue that miss just two minutes later as the visitors moved ahead.

Picking the ball up from Miguel Veloso – who, earlier this week, Carlos Queiroz admitted had featured on United’s scouting radar – right-back Abel advanced down the right wing.
Goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak, like everyone else inside the ground bar Abel, was expecting a cross and advanced from his line in anticipation. The Sporting right back took full advantage and blasted a shot inside the Pole’s near post from virtually on the touchline.
Old Trafford was stunned into silence. Even the small pocket of Sporting fans seemed hesitant to celebrate, so unexpected had been the opening goal. They were in far more vocal mood five minutes later when Brazilian striker Liedson turned in Veloso’s mishit shot, only for the celebrations to be cut short by a linesman’s flag.
United, with far less to play for than their qualification-chasing visitors, were looking second best and found it difficult to forge any clear-cut openings of their own.
It was clearly with that in mind that Ryan Giggs and Tevez were introduced as half-time substitutes, replacing Darren Fletcher and Nani respectively. The fresh legs certainly injected new vigour into United’s approach.
Within 15 minutes of the restart, Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic had both headed Giggs set-pieces wide, while Saha had dallied on Tevez’s through-ball and allowed Sporting to clear.

It was of little surprise that United’s dominance yielded an equaliser just after the hour. Even less shock value could be attributed to the fact that the livewire Tevez was the scorer.
A blazing run from Patrice Evra rescued a loose ball and his cross was deflected to Ronaldo via Saha. The Portuguese winger somewhat skewed his shot, but it clipped first Marian Had and then Tevez en route to the back of the net.
There was a touch of fortune and bewilderment about the equaliser, but no doubting United’s credentials for parity. It was almost short-lived, however, as Veloso sent a scorching drive onto the roof of Kuszczak’s net from 30 yards just two minutes later.
Although victory was far from imperative in a consequential sense, it was clear that United were intent on posting an eighth straight home victory in Europe. The Reds’ attacking play continued apace, and Ronaldo was twice within inches of putting the hosts ahead.
First he sent a diving header into the side netting, having thrown himself full-length at a Tevez cross, before sending a clipped effort past the top corner from just inside the area.
Sir Alex then sent on Owen Hargreaves at the expense of Louis Saha, and the England midfielder’s first contribution was to force Patricio into saving with his legs, having latched onto a clipped through-ball from Anderson.

It was that boy Ronaldo,
however, who had the final say once more against his former side. With two of four alotted injury time minutes up, the winger stepped up to fire one of his trademark swerving, dipping set-pieces past the helpless Patricio and into the net.
United: Kuszczak; O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Fletcher (Giggs, 46), Carrick, Anderson, Nani (Tevez, 46); Ronaldo, Saha (Hargreaves, 79).
Subs not used: Van der Sar, Brown, Pique, Simpson.
Sporting Lisbon: Patricio; Abel, Tonel, Polga, Had; Veloso, Moutinho, Izmailov (Pereirinha, 81), Romagnoli (Vukcevic, 68); Purovic (Farnerud, 80), Liedson.
Subs not used: Tiago, Silva, Gladstone, Paez.

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27/11/2007 20:54, Report by Steve Bartram

Poll: Star man v Sporting

There were several contenders for United's man of the match award in the dramatic victory against Sporting Lisbon.

Cristiano Ronaldo, for the second time a winner against his former side, will undoubtedly be a strong contender after hammering home an injury-time free kick and turning in an impressive all-round display.

But what about subsitutes Carlos Tevez, who bagged the all-important equaliser, and Ryan Giggs, whose experience and nous gave United the cutting edge required to turn no points into three?

Also in contention are Anderson, who gave another combative but classy performance, Patrice Evra - in lung-busting form as ever - or Nemanja Vidic, who once again put his body on the line throughout the match.
So, who will you vote for? Visit www.manutd.com/polls to have your say.

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27/11/2007 21:54, Report by Adam Bostock

Roma hit four in Kyiv

AS Roma followed in United's footsteps on Tuesday night by scoring four against the Group F whipping boys Dynamo Kiev.

It seemed top spot in the group would go to the wire at half-time when the Italians led 3-0 in the Ukraine while the Reds were 0-1 down at home to Sporting Lisbon. But when normal service resumed in Manchester, Roma's impressive 4-1 win proved to be academic. There will be five points between them when they meet on 12 December.

The other British sides in action on Tuesday both lost away. Arsenal, already through, surrendered their 100 per cent record by losing 3-1 to Sevilla in Group H. The Spanish side will now join the Gunners in the last 16.

Rangers were also beaten on foreign soil, by the German side VfB Stuttgart. The 3-2 loss leaves Walter Smith's side in second place in Group E but they must avoid defeat at home to Lyon in the crucial last fixture if they're to go through. Group winners Barcelona drew 2-2 away to Lyon on Tuesday night after taking the lead in each half through Iniesta and Messi.

Internazionale are Group G winners after beating Fenerbahce 3-0. PSV Eindhoven could still go through, after winning 1-0 at CSKA Moscow.


UEFA Champions LeagueTuesday 27 November

Stuttgart 3-2 Rangers
Lyon 2-2 Barcelona

Dynamo Kyiv 1-4 Roma
United 2-1 Sporting Lisbon

CSKA Moscow 0-1 PSV
Inter Milan 3-0 Fenerbahce

St. Bucharest 1-1 Slavia Prague
Sevilla 3-1 Arsenal