Manchester United took control of their Europa League last 32 tie with Ajax with a comfortable victory in Amsterdam.
A sustained spell of pressure from United after the break was rewarded when Nani's cross found Ashley Young, who beat his man to score.
And late on Javier Hernandez scored after good work from substitute Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney.
United entertain Ajax in the second leg next Thursday.
Style
Two months on from Roy Keane’s withering assessment, United’s latest generation answered the Irishman in style.
The former Old Trafford captain didn’t hold back in his criticism following Champions League elimination in Basle – much to the dismay of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Players like Ashley Young, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling were told to “buck up” their ideas after the humiliation of an early exit.
The first of that trio got United underway in the Europa League with the opening goal against Ajax.
But more importantly, Ferguson’s young side produced a classic away performance in Europe that belied their tender years.
The average age of Ferguson’s starting line-up was 24, including the 33-year-old Rio Ferdinand and 30-year-old Michael Carrick.
Ferguson had vowed to take the competition seriously, despite initially describing it as a “penalty”.
That earned consternation from UEFA president Michel Platini, but the United manager was as good as his word, naming a strong side that included Rooney, Ferdinand, Carrick, Nani and Young.
Tom Cleverley was also handed his European debut, but more importantly, it was the England under 21 international’s first appearance since October in an injury ravaged season.
His return is a major fillip for the title run-in – not least in taking the pressure off Scholes’ 37-year-old legs.
European giants
The current Ajax side may pale in comparison to their great sides of the past, but club remains one of the giants of European football.
Ajax also keep to the slick passing football of their glorious past with United target Christian Eriksen at the heart of it.
But it was Aras Ozbiliz who gave United their first scare after 14 minutes when he turned Fabio just past the half way line.
He then tried to catch out David de Gea with a long-rage effort from the wing, but the Spaniard comfortably claimed.
A Rooney long-ranger was then also comfortably held by Ajax keeper Kenneth Vermeer.
The striker turned provider soon after, with his vision almost setting Hernandez away again only for Vermeer to be too quick off his line. It would become a theme.
United needed Jonny Evans’ intervention as the game reached the half-hour stage, with the defender’s clearing header crucial in denying Dmitri Bulykin a free effort from six yards out.
Just after it was De Gea who was needed – producing an outstanding save to tip Siem de Jong’s 25-yard drive past the post.
Form
It was a superb piece of athleticism to prevent the top-corner-bound shot, only underlining his ever-improving form.
But the Dutch side were on top, causing problems down the left in particular, while United were struggling to find their range with their passing.
Both Nani and Young were guilty of wastefulness with their final ball – much to the frustration of Rooney.
United looked much sharper and attacked with more intent from the start of the second half.
Nani forced Vermeer to tip over straight after the restart – and good work from Young presented Jones with a chance inside the box, only for him to miss the ball completely.
It was still promising and when Hernandez’ drag back on the edge of the area took him clean through, he looked certain to break the deadlock. But once again Vermeer was off his line in an instant to smother the danger.
United had found their groove and on 59 minutes they got the goal their second half play deserved.
Nani’s cross from the right was deflected past the waiting Rooney and Hernandez, but found its way to Young.
The England winger coolly made space for himself before driving a low shot through the crowded six-yard box.
Eriksen had Ajax’s best chance of scoring an equaliser when showing impressive pace to race past Fabio from the half-way line.
His 20-yard shot was on target, but always comfortable for De Gea.
Ajax were limited to shooting from range in a bid to get back on level terms and they were caught on the break with classic break-away goal with five minutes left on the clock.
In a flash United turned defence into attack with Valencia, Rooney and Hernandez combining for the Mexican to fire home the goal that should have booked United’s place in the last 16.
It would be interesting to know what ITV pundit Keane made of it all. But as this is Thursday night, Channel 5, his views will have to remain his own.
What is your verdict on the action? Have your say.
Ajax 0 Manchester United 2 - James Robson's Europa League verdict
February 16, 2012
Comments
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Terrible first half, competent second half.
Great finish and composure by Young, great goal by Chico, I am literally praying that it was just a knock for Tony V.
I've got tickets for the home game I hope the lads turn on the style a bit more than they did tonight...
Stupid Google chrome football notifier said kick-off was at 10:00, missed more than half the match -.-
First half was too slow, not surprising considering Jones, Cleverley, Young & Hernandez have hardly played any football in months. But the second half was great, and hopefully Fergie will give Pogba a game in the return leg. Also Giggs could play his 900th game against the 112th different club he's faced!
Hope Tony V is ok and hope we do the business in the next leg and get a trip to Spain, not Russia for our reward.
Evans had a good match ! But Rooney was great even without scoring.
What's the news on Valencia? Hope he is OK.
first half was slow..which is hardly surprising due to the amount of players returning from injuries...the second half was solid and competent..i really, really really hope Valencia's injury is not serious..he is soo magnificent 3 minutes on and he creates a goal..we absolutely need him to be fit..thank goodness we have no prem lge match till next week, that should give him some rest. evans my boy were have you been all this while, great game...and by the way, wats all the fuss about eriksen? i really expected him to run the show 2day..but he was reduced to defending n long shots..but hey thats just me.
Ferguson took a bit of a risk putting out five players who were not match fit but in saying that,Jones and Fabio were exceptional! Ajax had some great players in their team,which the Channel 5 commentators did not seem to appreciate,I reckon half a dozen of them will finish up at big clubs but there weren't many better than the Jones boy!Another good shift from Evens again.but Tom will need a couple of games to get up to pace.
Good ref too. Why can't we have them over here?
Terrible 1st half and usual poor tactics by fergie as per usual in europe even when were light years ahead of the team that we are playing. That could easily have been 5or6 and only eriksen is the only real bit of quality ajax have and that centre back everybody raves about isnt that great and in my opinion not a top class player
Cleverly showed how much of a quality player he is, 1st touch top class and never gave the ball away and was always trying to pass forwards and be positive unlike other certain midfielders.
dysfunctional first half better when the subs came on ,class goal by young and chico,
BAD NEWS... valencia is out for a month...what is going on this season...why ohhh why???????? nani n young better step up...n fast.........
I hope we take this competition seriously, would be nice to have this cup in the trophy cabinet at the end of the season.
we started very slowly I must say the first half dragged by but a much better team performance in the 2nd half was always going to win the game for united
still not convinced about the quality of de gea in goals, he distributes well but needs to bulk up a lot
thought cleverly looked pretty good in his comeback, hope he starts to shine now for the run in
evans had a nother solid game, he's been terrific really since his nightmare against the neighbours in october
we do need to shoot the ball more, we almost looked as boring as barcelona knocking the ball backwards far too much for my liking
hope the second leg is a formality next week, certainly a much better performance than the rubbish we played in the CL
come on you reds
Well, that was a bit of a let down after our recent performances. Good result of course.
I thought the back four were really good and Rio had his best game for a long while. Evans continued his good form and well done Fabio you little rough diamond you!
Carrick was again excellent & Cleverly did well also but our wide players were so hit & miss - Young far from convinces me ( I never rated him at Villa) and Nani had one of those games when you just want to give him a good slap!
Wayne was decent and Chico lively but overall I found our performance very,very, average and a bit disjointed at times.
After having watched both the Barca/Bayern and United/Ajax games I can now see why the Dynamic Duo think that United and Barca are so much alike - they both have 11 players on the pitch. That's enough for those two, anything else would just be overkill!!
Terrible first half - looked like 11 players who had never played together before. Second half much better.
Defense OK generally but Jones poor on the ball but allowance for first game for a while - still not a full back tho'. Fabio still too impetuous at times but didn't do too bad - needs more games. Evans except for one howler had a good game also and Rio didn't have too much to do.
Some nice touches from Cleverley, again need to get some games in. Carrick again quietly efficient. Nani just about made every wrong decision possible (even accounting for his first game back after injury) which is becoming more and more the norm for him. Young didn't seem to know what he was doing, good goal tho'
Rooney and Chicarito Ok but didn't get many good balls to attack. Just about did enough to win the game.
Major disappointment not to see Pogba getting some part of the game - if he can't compete with the young kids at Ajax who is he going to be able to compete against. Hopefully in the next game as United are ahead SAF will give him a chance.
A workmanlike performance, a good result but please no more of the ridiculous comparisons - they're just not there.
The word ‘competent’ springs to mind when I think of something to summarise what I think of tonight’s venture into the Europa League.
A positive team selection showed that SAF IS taking the competition seriously, and astute use of our substitutions added to the satisfaction in producing a decent display and a comfortable win.
Not usual for me to gripe, but I would have liked to have seen Pogba having a ten or fifteen run-out. However, on reflection I can understand why SAF decided against that particular move on this occasion. Hopefully we will see the youngster displaying his impressive talents next week?
I can’t leave this posting without a mention of the excellent performance from our numero uno – yet again! I fully appreciate that it is very early days for our Spanish goalkeeper but, my word, he really is showing all of us what a damn good goalie he is. After his tentative and stuttering start with us he is now improving all the time. His communication with his defence and his confidence has come on leaps and bounds. Keep this form up, David, and eventually the most pessimistic of our doubters will be singing your praises?
Finally I raise my glass to our wonderful away supporters whose voices came over almost non-stop via the volume of my TV. Actually, I will have a couple of more wee gasses of “my finest” and retire to bed early with a satisfying feeling of a United job well done!
United ‘til I die!
Was hoping we would lose, as this is an unwanted distraction to our main aim. Title number 20. Oh well at least bertie won as well, so it looks like were both in the last 16. Please put out a weakened team next Thursday !!!!!
In my opinion again one of the best United players was Carrick. It has been a long time since I saw this guy make a mistake [if I could guess I would say more than a month ago. Just guessing, not that I'm right]. His reading of the game looks better, he is not afraid anymore to keep the ball and he's controlling the midfield like a real maestro. He has changed my opinion of him, for like 180 degrees...
Regarding the game, I must agree with most of the fans. A poor first half, but a slightly better second. This could be just because we scored twice [well, goals are the most important thing in the game, duh]. All in all I was very pleased with our overall performance.
P.S. Is it just me or this Ajax side is very poor. I used to be a fan of theirs [before i met United], but after these last seasons they have lost all of my sympathy. Very sad...
Antonio is out for four weeks with a hamstring injury
lets hope he will get better sooner !
Fabio man of the match for me. Loved the way he stopped their winger time and time again while contributing to our attack non-stop. Well done lad!
Useful run-out for Cleverley. He should be really cooking by the return match. We should be comfortable enough to give Pogba a game as well ... I hope.
And Eriksen looked a real classy player. Strong, two good feet, nice eye for a pass and a helluva engine! Imagine how he would look in a better team - say, Manchester United!
Agree with most comments about a very insipid first half. But improved in the second. Young may have scored the goal but he realy does look second rate, and now Valencia is out for a month they have to step up.
good result for united. Not a great performance. Good job Ajax are not up to much. Good to see Cleverly, Young and Jones back. I thought Nani was poor. It really is time he started producing consistent football
A very workmanlike performance. We hit no great heights in the game but did enough to gain the advantage for the home leg. Ajax will have to come to attack us at OT, which will make it interesting.
It was supposed to be our strongest team, but around half of it were returning from injury. They were not match fit nor game sharp. Our play in the final third was erratic to say the least, with Nani the main culprit. Some of his decision making defies belief at times.
Overall the positives far outweigh the minus points. Lots of guys got some good minutes under their belts. We have a decent advantage for the home leg. The defence played well. DDG made some good saves and his distribution was sound. Fabio had a very good game. Nice to see Phil, Tom, Ash ( good goal ), Nani, and Chico ( predator ) all get through this game. Evans had a very good game, as did Carrick.
Had I travelled to Amsterdam I might feel a little aggrieved at spending that money and time for that level of performance. But I stayed home, did some good business and watched it on TV with a decent bottle of red ( what else ). Really hoping that Bibao win their home leg against the Russians. Onwards and upwards. Get well quick Tony V!!
good result
poor display
well taken goal from an otherwise shocking display from ashley young.
nani back to his old frustrating self he was abysmal
fabio an accident waiting to happen.
chicarito scored a goal got some game time he was poor
the rest of the players were merely ok
Strange performance, professional first half display without ever threatening, then second half we turn the screw,score then retreat back into ourselves again till we get the breakaway second.
With so many players just comng back it's hard to judge the performances of players,but nani was awful and back to his frustrating best,young didnt do much and never seems to run forward with the ball,evans was excellent and he did more forward runs with the ball than our midfielders, kudos also to fabio who did more tackles than the whole team combined. Should set us up nicely for the second leg,hoping spain rather than russia. Hope tony v gets back soon as his form has been excellent recently
It was a good result and a competent display. We were never really under any pressure and did quite well. It always seemed to be a matter of time before we put them away. Thought in the first half that pur wide men were quite poor and that held us back. Johnny Evans was very good I thought. He looks to be more confident and importantly he looks now like he is willing to lead, not just stand back and let Rio or Vidic sort it out. He's coming along really nicely. He will make a mistake here and there but I hope now he's built up enough belief in himself to be able to shrug off a mistake if he makes one
Decent result, players coming back into the team only negative was the Valencia injury. Good games from Evans, De Gea, Carrick, Rooney and Young. Rio, Jones, Hernandez and Fabio were all solid. Nani and Cleverley looked short of match form which is understandable.
Injuries this season have been a real problem yet we are still competing and have an opportunity to contend for No. 20!
The lad Eriksen looks a decent player. Reminds me a little of a David Silva/ Mesut Ozil in his style of play. At 20 he is in the right age bracket for Utd and although will cost £20 million + i personally feel it would be money well invested. The only other players that fit this category are Gotze, Wilshere and Thiago.
Great result which will allow SAF to field this line-up next Thursday (Nani and Young to play a half each) and then make eight changes for the Sunday early kick-off vs Norwich....
vs Ajax (H)
..............................................De Gea..........................................
Rafael.................Smalling.....................Jones.....................Fabio
Nani....................Cleverley...................Giggs.......................Park
...........................Berbatov..................Welbeck...........................
SUBS: Amos, De Laet, Fryers, Pogba, Young, Rooney, W. Keane
vs Norwich (A)
...............................................De Gea...........................................
Jones..................Ferdinand...................Evans......................Evra
Nani.....................Carrick.......................Scholes.................Young
............................Rooney...................Hernandez.........................
SUBS: Amos, Rafael, Smalling, Cleverley, Park, Berbatov, Welbeck