Sport 27-11-2002 Van Nistelrooy Leads United Fight-Back who: Manchester United what: Beat FC Basle 1-3 in Champions` League second group stage where: Basle, Switzerland when: Last night snippet: "The simple statistic is that Ruud van Nistelrooy has scored five goals in four days for Manchester United," says The Telegraph`s Sam Wallace, "but the deeper significance will not be lost on Sir Alex Ferguson this morning. His Dutch striker`s two extraordinary goals last night rescued his team and equalled the club record for European Cup goals - he is the man they simply cannot do without." "Given that Basel, the first club from Switzerland to progress beyond the first group stage, had already knocked Celtic out during the qualifying rounds and accounted for Liverpool in the first group phase, this was always going to a tricky start for a United team decimated by injury," says The Scotsman`s James Little, "and they did little to help themselves by conceding a goal after only 31 seconds." "It took the Swiss champions precisely 12 seconds to win their first corner and 31 to take the lead, the sixth fastest goal in the history of the Champions` League," says The Independent`s Tim Rich. "The fateful corner was met by the head of one of Basle`s two strikers from Buenos Aires, Julio Rossi, and deflected home by the other, Christian Gimenez." "Van Nistelrooy was singled out for praise by Ferguson after a victory that required United to recover from a disastrous start to score three second-half goals," writes Matt Dickinson in The Times after United went on to beat FC Basle 1-3 in their first Champions League second group match. [... more]

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