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Man U moves on Ronaldo ineffective as Inter falls out of Champions Cup
Posted: Wednesday March 17, 1999 05:35 PM
MILAN, Italy (AP) -- Paul Scholes was left wide open to slot in the clinching goal Wednesday as Manchester United rallied to draw 1-1 at Inter Milan and advance to the Champions Cup semifinals on a 3-1 aggregate. Scholes, a substitute, calmly chipped the ball home from 8 yards out after Andy Cole laid a header at his feet with two minutes left, replying to Nicola Ventola's strike in the 62nd for Inter. Added to a 2-0 home win in the first leg two weeks ago, and put Manchester through, but not before the Premier League leaders had to suffer through a difficult second half in front of 79,528 at sold-out San Siro Stadium. "We showed big hearts and we also created goal chances, we just weren't able to put them in," said Inter star Ronaldo, who was had only rare moments of brilliance in his 59 minutes of action. "[United] deserved it more than we did." The elimination rounds out a disappointing season for the Brazilian and the rest of Inter, in eighth place in Serie A and out of the title chase and also out of the Italian Cup. "It's an ugly season," Ronaldo acknowledged. Ronaldo was not Inter's savior, though his replacement nearly was. The two-time FIFA Player of the Year -- making just his second start in two months because of knee problems -- was held in check much of the night by Dutch defender Jaap Stam, and left in the 59th minute in favor of Ventola, who scored within three minutes. From 20 yards out, French midfielder Benoit Cauet, involed in nearly every serious Inter attack, lobbed a free kick over the Manchester backline that Ireland's Roy Keane missed completely on a clear attempt. That error gave Ventola free passage, and the striker volleyed a left-footed shot inside the far post with 'keeper Peter Schmeichel out of position. "We rode our luck at some moments but I think our play was excellent," United coach Alex Ferguson said. "The players deserved the result." Buoyed by the 1-0 lead, and needing one more goal to force extra time, the hosts assaulted the Manchester net and came close to hitting the target. With eight minutes to go, Brazil's Ze Elias picked up a loose ball and dribbled in alone, but his shot sailed right of the far post. A minute later, Schmeichel extended to grab Ventola's angled effort. And in the 86th, the Danish 'keeper needed every inch of his 6-foot-4 frame to tip away substitute winger Francesco Moriero's rocket from 20 yards out on the right. But Scholes, who came on for Norway's Ronny Johnsen in the 76th minute, decided the outcome, closing a nice action that started with a long ball from defender Gary Neville. Nigerian defender Taribo West, who otherwise turned in an inspired performance, appeared to lose track of Scholes. An extra 1,000 police were at the game to prevent fan clashes, and the stands appeared to be calm. About 8,000 Manchester supporters made the trip. Milan police arrested three English hooligans for attacking a taxi driver on the eve of the game, a police official said. With Stam shadowing Ronaldo, Inter had trouble getting its attack set early, and Chilean striker Ivan Zamorano was often left alone up front. In the 33rd, Ronaldo took a pass from Roberto Baggio, turned Stam and broke toward the net, but Norway's Henning Berg ran over to strip the ball, and in the 48th, Ronaldo again was fed by Baggio and squeezed off a powerful shot but Schmeichel punched it out. Ronaldo and his teammates pleaded for a penalty call in the 50th, when the 22-year-old went down in the box after Keane put a hand on him. There were other chances for the hosts, most notably in the 22nd, when Argentina's Javier Zanetti faked Ryan Giggs to create some space atop the penalty area and let fly a stinging shot that hit the left post. Six minutes in, Baggio deftly slid the ball to a Ronaldo in full stride but Berg tackled the Brazilian. And Cauet found Zamorano with three through-balls between the 10th and 18th minutes, but Stam stopped one threat and Schmeichel took care of the others -- though on one Zamorano wanted a penalty. Berg made another key play in the 19th, when Zanetti sent a cross into the area with Zamorano and Argentine midfielder Diego Simeone bearing down on Schmeichel. But the Norwegian managed to lift the ball out of danger, while Simeone clattered into Schmeichel and suffered a sprained left ankle that forced David Beckham's World Cup nemesis to leave the game in the 32nd. Lineups Inter: Gianluca Pagliuca; Giuseppe Bergomi (substitute: Francesco Moriero, 69th), Francesco Colonnese, Taribo West; Mikael Silvestre, Javier Zanetti, Benoit Cauet, Diego Simeone (Ze Elias,32nd); Roberto Baggio, Ronaldo (Nicola Ventola, 59th), Ivan Zamorano. Manchester United: Peter Schmeichel; Gary Neville, Jaap Stam, Denis Irwin, Henning Berg, Ronny Johnsen (Paul Scholes, 76th); Ryan Giggs (Phil Neville, 81st), Roy Keane, David Beckham; Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke.
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