Real Madrid 1 Man United 1: Ronaldo on target against old club after Welbeck opener but De Gea is the hero for Ferguson's side

 

By MARTIN SAMUEL

He scored; of course, he scored. And he celebrated; of course, he celebrated. Nothing too showy, nothing that will spoil his return to Old Trafford next month, but Cristiano Ronaldo has too much love for his new club to overplay the respect for his old. 

He has kept them very much in the game, make no mistake of that. It would have been a different match were Real Madrid travelling to Manchester in March having lost, and failed to score, at home. Instead, it is all to play for. 

United got their away goal, but Real Madrid did enough to suggest they are capable of matching that achievement. 

Hang time: Cristiano Ronaldo scored against his former club with a well-executed header past David De Gea

MATCH FACTS

Real Madrid: Diego Lopez, Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Varane, Fabio Coentrao, Khedira, Alonso (Pepe 83), Di Maria (Modric 75), Ozil, Ronaldo, Benzema (Higuain 60).
Subs Not Used: Adan, Kaka, Carvalho, Essien.
Goals: Ronaldo 30.

Man United: De Gea, Rafael, Ferdinand, Evans, Evra,
Welbeck (Valencia 73), Carrick, Jones, Kagawa (Giggs 64), Rooney (Anderson 84), Van Persie.

Subs Not Used: Lindegaard, Smalling, Hernandez, Cleverley.

Booked: van Persie, Rafael, Valencia.

Goals: Welbeck 20.

Attendance: 85,454

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).

As for Ronaldo, had he still been at United there would only be one winner from here. He terrified Rafael at right back, was never anything less than the most dangerous player on the field and when United scored against the run of play, it was Ronaldo who dragged his team-mates level. He scored with a header, as the greats do.

It helps when the marking defender does not jump, of course, and for some reason Patrice Evra did not. Ther
e were a litany of mistakes from United in the build-up, beginning with the decision to complain about a throw-in that should have gone their way, rather than deal with the injustice. This gave Angel Di Maria the opportunity to cross and Ronaldo the chance to go up against a weaker defender in the air in Evra. The ball was met and diverted perfectly. And only when referee Felix Brych blew the final whistle was the importance of that goal fully apparent. 

It might not have been deserved on balance of play, but United could easily have won here. They will fancy their chances having collected the away goal, too. 

Hero: Manchester United stopper David de Gea turned in a fantastic display to keep the tie level

And Sir Alex Ferguson was as good as his word in getting on the front foot. A starting line-up that included Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Danny Welbeck and Shinji Kagawa can hardly be termed cautious. And to that extent, United got the break they merited. 

It came from a corner and some more poor defending. Rooney took it and Sergio Ramos failed to deal with it, preferring to try to grapple with Welbeck rather than stop him. He succeeded in doing neither, and the England man steered his header past Diego Lopez. 

That was the best of it from United, but it was far from their only opportunity. In the 72nd minute, the unusually subdued Van Persie broke down the right and struck a shot which Lopez diverted onto a post. The chance cleared, Rio Ferdinand lobbed the ball back in and Van Persie was suddenly unmarked, his shock echoing that of the stadium, with a scuffed finish that allowed Xabi Alonso to clear on the line.

It was a worrying start for United. There were five chances in the first eight minutes, four at one end, one at the other, but all the work of Real Madrid. The cluster around the visitors goal was the greatest concern, obviously, particularly the one that should have given Madrid the lead. 

That came in the sixth minute when a pass inside by Ronaldo was cut out by Ferdinand, but with a heavier touch than usual. The ball fell to Fabio Coentrao whose curled shot looked in, were it not for the fingertips of David de Gea directing the ball onto the far post and back out. 

Earlier, Ronaldo had begun another move which played in Karim Benzema before Sami Khedira struck his shot wide. Di Maria had a surging run into the box, poorly finished, and moments later a Coentrao free-kick was headed over by Sergio Ramos. 

The Spaniards even contrived to create United's best chance, too: a nothing ball played into the right back position which Raphael Varane headed back to goalkeeper Diego Lopez - Iker Casillas was out, injured, not banished by Jose Mourinho - who had already charged from his line. 

Hearts stopped as the ball ran towards Madrid's goal, replaced by relieved sighs as it drifted harmlessly away for a corner. 

It is unlikely that we saw the ultimate champions of Europe in the Bernabeu last night, not when these two sides are so inconsistent defensively.  

De Gea made that brilliant save and then missed his punch for a corner soon after. When a quite magnificent free-kick from Alonso left Mesut Ozil one on one, De Gea was strong at his feet at the near post. 

Soon after, a chance in a similar position saw him fumble and regain the ball only at the second attempt. United can outscore their uncertainty domestically, but can they do that over another six games against the elite of Europe? 

Not that Madrid were radiating confidence. Every United attack seemed capable of ending with a goal. Indeed, despite Madrid having the better of the game early on, United could have scored a second in the 34th minute when Evra fed Van Persie on the left and his cross was almost turned in by Welbeck. 

And so the game unfolded very much as Sir Alex Ferguson  predicted. Madrid had a go, then United had a go, although Madrid sometimes had two or three before United got the right of reply. 

Mourinho was so engrossed in the action he strayed dangerously near the play, forcing Wayne Rooney to run behind him at one stage having released a forward pass.

United's defence, however, continued to live most dangerously of all. Phil Jones was certainly fortunate that German referee Felix Brych saw his challenge on Di Maria as a legitimate shoulder barge, not a push, in the area. 

As for Rafael, he was enduring not so much a match as an education. Madrid took it in turns to tease him - Ronaldo the most intense test, obviously - before he was booked five minutes before half-time for a challenge. Just the 50 minutes to go then. Never helpful for a full back against Ronaldo, that.

Head boy: Danny Welbeck scored the opening goal of the game from a Wayne Rooney corner

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Making his point: Sir Alex Ferguson selected an attacking line-up to face the Spanish giants

Tough to watch: Jose Mourinho cut an animated figure on the touchline during the last-16 clash

Battle: Robin van Persie holds off the challenge from Alvaro Arbeloa as Fabio Coentrao slides in on Wayne Rooney (below)

It had to be him: Ronaldo is mobbed by his Real Madrid team-mates after scoring for the hosts

Rolling back the years: Real Madrid 3 Leeds 2; March 6, 2001

Danny Welbeck is the first Englishman to score for a Premier League side at the Bernabeu since Alan Smith in 2001.

Smith (below), playing for Leeds at the time, scored the opening goal of the game but the English team eventually lost the tie 3-2 following a brace from Raul and a solo strike by Luis Figo.