Source: Daily_Mail
Martin Samuel: Marathon men hit the wall as they enter the final stretch
Manchester Utd 2 Porto 2Like a marathon runner, swaying and stumbling through that final mile, Manchester United have the finishing line in sight. The pain, though, is coursing through every muscle in their body, their throat is parched, their eyes are hazy, stinging with salty tears.
If Manchester United are to make it through this round, let alone prevail in their quest for the quintuple, or get anywhere near it, they will in all likelihood have to be the first English team to win at Porto's grand Stadium of Dragons. To do so may be inspiring, but it will not necessarily be pretty.
This season was never going to be a procession for a team weighed down by overwhelming ambition on so many fronts but, a few weeks ago, nobody thought it would be this hard. United have hit the wall and from here the challenge before them borders on the epic.
History exists in its present form for a reason and teams rarely win consecutive European crowns (never in the modern era) and rarely collect three consecutive titles because the effort in doing so borders on superhuman.
United look knackered. Not just tired, puffed out or waiting for a second wind. They look dead on their feet, exhausted, as if the hangover of that night in Moscow and a Premier League title race that went to Wigan Athletic on the last day of last season has suddenly kicked in.
It is more than just the fatigue of having played a thunderous game against Aston Villa on Sunday. This is a deeper malaise, one it will be hard to shake off as those contesting the title across England and Europe turn and gallop for home.
Seemingly running through treacle, far from being poised for a clean sweep of honours, United will need to expend every last drop of energy if they are not to end up with just the booby prize, the Carling Cup, as their reward this season.
This is a heroic enterprise, really, a team being stretched to the limit of endurance, refusing to give up. It is a sign of Manchester United's vulnerability that, having appeared to triumph against the odds through Carlos Tevez in the 85th minute, they conceded the lead again with a minute remaining.
Mariano Gonzalez was the scorer, shambolic the marking, United's defence sucked not so much into a hole as a vortex. Gary Neville was the nearest to the scene of the crime, having replaced Jonny Evans, who became the latest United defender to pick up an injury. With Rio Ferdinand being nursed through the rest of the season even a squad as sprawling as Manchester United's is close to breaking point.
Against a Porto front line charged with South American inspiration they look vulnerable. Far from being intimidated by the away leg of this tie, Porto outgunned United, 18 shots on target, off target and blocked, compared to United's 14.
Perhaps that is what shocked. Maybe Ferguson's players were hoping to ease into this match, to begin at a gentle cat-and-mouse pace, the routine in so many European encounters. Instead, confronted with Porto's flair and invention, they creaked into action, but not quickly enough. By the time Cristian Rodriguez had given Porto the lead, Edwin Van Der Sar, the Manchester United goalkeeper, had already repelled Lisandro.
United were unsettled by Porto's urgent pressing game and looked nervous, not for the first time in recent weeks. That they reached half-time level was a stroke of luck conjured by a horrid back pass from defender Bruno Alves, rather than any creation on United's part. They cannot hope to rely on outrageous fortune through the remainder of these closing weeks, though.
These days, Sir Alex Ferguson monitors every biological detail of player fitness with daily urine tests analysed at the training ground, but science was not required to deduce that his team are wobbling, trembling with the sheer intensity of it all. There is a sharpness missing from United's game, a sluggish demeanour and a tendency to the obvious that is mystifying to those who saw them look so assured away against Inter Milan a month ago.
Where United's lethargy can most be seen is in the number of times a good position is wasted by lazy delivery. The ball out in a wide area, John O'Shea or Darren Fletcher took turns leathering it into the backside of the first covering defender when an energised United team would have tried to beat that man, or had options for short triangular passes, changing the angle of attack. On other occasions United's midfield were simply too slow working back.
Do not be alarmed. It is not as if United are there for the taking by just anybody. They will still have more than enough for the majority of teams in the Premier League - Sunderland are the opponents on Saturday and, judging by their performance against West Ham United on Saturday, never have three points for United looked more guaranteed - and the early-round opponents in the Champions League would have been gobbled up, too.
The second leg of this tie, however, will be different. Porto look a strong, quick, enterprising team, an upmarket version of the Aston Villa side that took United to the wire on Sunday. They bear no resemblance to the team who conceded four to Arsenal in the group stage and it would appear weariness has overtaken United at exactly the wrong moment.
Last night's trudge merely highlighted what a masterstroke it was by Ferguson to throw 17-year-old Federico Macheda into the fray against Villa at the weekend. A gamble it might have been, but fresh legs and minds are exactly what United need now.
It is no coincidence that, when United built a head of steam in the second half, the player at the heart of it was Wayne Rooney, whose effervescence brings a smile even from that old misery guts, Fabio Capello. Rooney is the reason United can never be written off, even when fit to drop. They have the ability, no doubt of that. There is an increasing feeling, however, that this team are running on empty and for Ferguson to solve that problem may just be the greatest accomplishment of his career.
