Manchester United went through to the last 16 of the Champions League, but that was not the principal advance. After the injury to his ankle and the upheaval in his life, Wayne Rooney scored the winner. In keeping with his diminution of late, he merely took the goal with a penalty after a high challenge by Steven Naismith had caught Fábio da Silva. The manner of the conversion could be what Sir Alex Ferguson now remembers keenly. Rooney sent Allan McGregor the wrong way.
It may not have been a demonstration of virtuosity, but there was touch of the swaggering that encouraged United to pay so very much and ensure that Rooney signed a new contract. Where finance is concerned, the contrasts are stark. Rangers, whose line-up had to be makeshift here, have barely been able to afford a signing in the past couple of years, yet there is no disintegration. They were very close here to matching the goalless draw achieved at Old Trafford earlier in Group C.
United and Valencia have left them behind but Walter Smith, in his last season as Rangers manager, can still hope for impact in the Europa League. He will readily agree that his approach to football contains a marked pragmatism, but any other approach would be folly. In any case, his side unsettled United on occasion in a manner that is not all that common in the Premier League.
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