Man U headed to Milan up 2-0
Yorke scores two headers in Champions Cup quarterfinal
Posted: Thursday March 04, 1999 08:22 AM
| |
Dwight Yorke (left) of Man United celebrates with Andy Cole after scoring the first goal. Clive Brunskill/Allsport |
MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- David Beckham set up two header goals
for Dwight Yorke and won his personal duel with Diego Simeone on
Wednesday as Manchester United scored a 2-0 victory over Inter
Milan in the quarterfinal of the European Champions Cup.
The England midfielder, whose World Cup flareup with Argentine
star Simeone ended in his expulsion and England's elimination,
curled in two accurate crosses for Yorke to head home from close
range and confident United takes a useful lead to Milan for the
second leg in two weeks time.
By then, Inter will hope that Brazlian striker Ronaldo,
sidelined with persistent knee trouble, will be back to try and
help the Italian club hit back.
Ronaldo didn't even travel with the team although there was
speculation that he might arrive a day late and appear on the
bench. Instead, Inter again fielded Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano
and Roberto Baggio in attack with French World Cup star Youri
Djorkaeff operating behind.
But it was United who struck early. Three Inter defenders left
Yorke unmarked in the area in the seventh minute and the Tobagan
easily headed home Beckham's right wing cross.
Two minutes later Simeone almost made it 1-1 with a 25-yard shot which flashed past the post.
Beckham almost set up a second with another expertly-crossed
ball from the right in the 32nd minute. Andy Cole stuck out a right
foot but goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca managed to deflect it round
the post with his left boot.
But the second came in the final moment of the first half and
again it was Beckham who curled in a measured cross and Yorke,
anticipating it, climbed above the Inter defense to head home from
barely four yards.
"David Beckham was absolutely magnificent," said United
manager Alex Ferguson. "But we had a lot of good players.
David Beckham and Diego Simeone meet for the first time since the 1998 World Cup. Clive Brunskill/Allsport |
|
"Two-nil is a great result for us and we will score over there."
Javier Zanetti almost pulled a goal back from the restart with
an angled, left-footed shot that Peter Schmeichel saved at the foot
of the near post.
Seconds into the second half Ryan Giggs wasted a great chance
when he headed wide from five yards from Yorke's cross.
It looked an even worse miss when Inter almost scored a minute
later. Zamorano hurled himself at a left-wing cross from Fabio
Galante and powered in a header which Schmeichel stopped with a
reflex-action, left hand save.
Aron Winter blocked a close-range shot from Cole on the line
before Simeone thought he had pulled a goal back for Inter in the
65th minute.
The Argentine midfielder powered forward to head in a corner
from Baggio but German referee Helmut Krug disallowed it for a push
by Galante.
And Inter went close again in the final few minutes.
Substitute Nicola Ventola almost pulled a goal back three
minutes from the end but his shot was kept out by Schmeichel's
boot.
And Henning Berg kept out Inter with a goal-line clearance from
Francesco Colonnese with Schmeichel off his line having already
made another save.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
| 
