Manchester United and CSKA Moscow Poor in Old Trafford Thriller

For everyone connected with Manchester United FC, their forthcoming Champions League match against CSKA Moscow was meant to simply be a formality.

However, as newspaper headlines read the following morning after the match, United really did stumble into the last 16 of the competition.

Only a fortuitous own goal spared Manchester United the embarassment of losing at home to what some Western European fans perceive to be an "easy team".

There is no doubt about it; United were poor at Old Trafford last night. Lacklustre in possession, inaccurate with crucial passes, too heavily reliant on use of the wings, and a lack of concentration in defence—go along to the DVD analysis session and the list will probably be endless.

Of course, they were not the only ones that were poor, however.

If you thought Manchester United were bad, then just watch the CSKA Moscow players in the latter stages of the second half.

Up until that point, though, the Russian giants were in cruise control of proceedings at the "Threatre of Dreams".

From the moment teenage sensation Alan Dzagoev brilliantly blasted his side into a surprise lead, till the point Vasili Berezutsky again stunned the worldwide audience to give the visitors a 1-3 lead, CSKA Moscow looked like they were the ones with the perfect record in the Champions League this season.

Even Michael Owen's instinctive goal to draw the scores level at 1-1 couldn't stop the CSKA juggernaut, as the team from the east completely outplayed their opponents.

But after being brilliant for so long, CSKA decided to relinquish such power in the match and collapsed into desperate defending and an inability to work the ball forward.

And thus, cue the usual Manchester United onslaught when the team are losing and the whole of the Stretford End issue their rallying cries, desperately praying a Paul Scholes or a Michael Carrick will produce some wonder shot from a millions miles away, to give their team some hope when they squander numerous chances the frustrated wingers provide.

This was the point at which certain individuals in the Manchester United team upped their game, and the point at which CSKA Moscow dissolved, which of course all culminated in a stunning climax and an incredible 3-3 draw.

Although, it was a 3-3 draw that might not have been, had Manchester United (and CSKA Moscow at times) not been unjustly denied by the referee.

For the majority of the game, the ref had a shocker, and as video replays suggest, at one point he wrongly booked Darren Fletcher (the unsung hero in the United ranks) for diving when, in fact, a smack-addlingly obvious penalty should've been given, this being written by a qualified referee himself!

It was an overall poor performance from all three parties involved in the encounter. However, it must be said, certain individuals did catch the eye.

The stand-out candidate was of course Igor Akinfeev, a superb shot-stopper whose saves were abolsutely crucial in CSKA even managing to achieve a draw.

Michael Owen also gave further reason as to why Fabio Capello should recall him to the England squad with a well-taken, instinctive goal.

However, the ex-Liverpool and Real Madrid striker was guilty of missing a glut of chances prior to his goal, and Capello will no doubt want the frontman to be a bit more clinical with his finishing if he is to become a regular again in the national team.

And lastly, Gabriel Obertan again impressed on his third debut, this time a Champions League debut for Manchester United.

He previously played in the competition with French powerhouse Bordeaux, and such experience showed as the winger looked classy yet still reliable on the ball, playing good pass-and-go football at a high tempo.

The winger already appears to be a bargain at £3m, much better value than his teammate on the opposite wing, Antonio Valencia.

This doesn't escape the fact however that Manchester United were indeed poor as a team, and will need to up their game if they are to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, something that not many of the top teams manage to achieve.

And CSKA Moscow will have to eradicate that poor stage of the second half, as a crunch match against current league champions Rubin Kazan awaits them this weekend.

Massive games for both teams this coming weekend; can they win? Maybe...if they play better than they did at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.