Sport 06-12-2001 Man Utd Top Champions` League Group A who: Manchester United what: Beat Boavista 3-0 in Champions` League Group A where: Old Trafford, MANCHESTER when: Last night snippet: "Manchester United`s Premiership hopes may be disappearing with the leaves off the trees," says The Evening Standard rather romatically, "but their Champions League campaign remains firmly on course going into the winter break after a 3-0 home win against Boavista." Ruud Van Nistelrooy scored twice last night against the Portuguese at Old Trafford to put United top of Group A just as Liverpool found themselves bottom of Group B. "In the 31st minute [Nistelrooy] gave United the lead and provided the platform for a convincing win," says The Mirror, "And when he latched on to Dwight Yorke`s through-ball in the 63rd minute, he showed maximum composure to steer the ball into the far corner." "It was a night for atonement, with the much-maligned trio of Fabien Barthez, Laurent Blanc and Juan Sebastián Verón all making important contributions," says Times correspondent Oliver Kay. England captain David Beckham, suffering a mild back injury, was given a night off while Verón occupyied his territory on the right. Resting Becks was a smart move by Sir Alex Ferguson, says Neil Custis in The Sun, who is not shy to point out that it had been predicted by "SunSport" yesterday. "It`s a shame I didn`t know beforehand that Beckham was not in the United team," quips Boavista coach Jaime Pacheco, "because I would have put him in mine!" [... more]

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