United through to Champions League
Tuesday, 27 August 2002 22:14Manchester United waltzed into the Champions League thanks to a quite comfortable 5-0 victory over Hungarian side Zalaegerszeg at Old Trafford. All the talk before this game centred on United's possible loss of income should they have lost the encounter, but a defeat was never really on the cards thanks to early goals from Van Nistlerooy, Beckham and Scholes.
Van Nistlerooy's goal came after just six minutes, another sharp finish from the Dutchman, and when Beckham lashed home a spectacular free-kick from 25 yards on 15 minutes, the game was over as a contest. Paul Scholes added another for United before the break, but the England international midfielder was later stretchered off with an ankle injury in the second half.
The second half never really sparked to life until the 76th minute. Zalaegerszeg goalkeeper Sasa Ilic came to claim a ball at the edge of the penalty area, but with the ball in his hands he appeared to catch Van Nistlerooy inside the box. The referee consulted with his linesman, he pointed to the spot and Ilic was ordered off. The Dutchman made no mistake from the spot.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came from the bench to score his now routine goal in the final ten minutes, and even though Diego Forlan was denied his first United goal by a linesman's flag, the United contingent left Old Trafford on a high.
Filed by Ciaran Cronin
