Sport 01-11-2001 United Qualify In Second Place who: Manchester United what: Draw 1-1 with Lille in Champions` League group G where: Lens, France when: Last night snippet: "Sir Alex Ferguson loves a gamble - but his £47million punt backfired last night," reckons The Mirror`s David Mcdonnell, who watched Manchester United draw 1-1 away to Lille. "The Old Trafford boss chose to leave out his big-money summer signings of Juan Sebastian Veron and Ruud van Nistelrooy, believing his second string could overcome Lille." United were once again thankful for a "wondrous" goal by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, says The Guardian`s Daniel Taylor. His sixth minute strike, "audaciously launching a diagonal and rising left-foot drive just beneath the left-hand upright, was the creation of a master at work." But a late goal in Athens "condemned Manchester United to an anxious morning when the draw for the next stage of the Champions` League is made in Geneva tomorrow," says The Independent. Deportivo La Coruña`s Joan Capdevila put his club at the top of Group G with an equaliser against Olympiakos and United missed out on the top seedings. "The prospect of facing Real Madrid, Juventus, Bayern Munich or Barcelona, who they could otherwise have avoided, will surely leave even the most confident at Old Trafford with a bead of perspiration on their brow," says The Sun`s Neil Custis. United, like Arsenal, will now be hoping to draw Nantes. [... more]

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