O’Shea gives United a semi-final edge

UNLIKELY hero John O’Shea gave Manchester United a single- goal lead to take into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final with Arsenal.

The defender’s 17th-minute effort was the least Sir Alex Ferguson’s side deserved for a near faultless display, in which Manuel Almunia made a quartet of stunning saves and Cristiano Ronaldo rattled the Gunners’ crossbar.

In addition, Ryan Giggs had a goal disallowed for offside on his 800th appearance, meaning Arsenal headed home glad to still have a chance of reaching Rome on May 27.

However, having indicated a single-goal victory and a clean sheet would represent a perfect result, Ferguson got what he wanted and his side must be favourites to progress.

The first half-hour was as one-sided as a game at this level is possible to be.

With screening midfielders Alexandre Song and Abou Diaby failing to quell the home tide, Wenger’s team were almost submerged before they had managed so much as a shot.

United would have been in front with only a minute on the clock had Almunia not managed to claw away a looping Wayne Rooney header that seemed destined to drop in.

The Spaniard pulled off two splendid stops in the space of a minute to deny Ronaldo.

His first was the pick, parrying a firm header from point-blank range after Carlos Tevez had crossed. A curling shot from the boot of the Ballon D’Or winner followed shortly afterwards which Almunia was also equal to.

It was a close-range effort from Tevez, saved by Almunia, that proved to be the prelude to United’s opener.

Anderson’s corner fell kindly for Michael Carrick at the far post, with the England star electing for a firmly driven cross into the six-yard box. Against his former club, Mikael Silvestre was eager to make a positive impression.

That did not include deflecting the ball to O’Shea.

Leaning back, the Irishman crashed his shot into the roof of Almunia’s net.

If Arsenal thought the second half at least gave them an opportunity to enjoy a more even share of possession and chances, they were mistaken.

A rocket shot from Ronaldo cannoned away for a corner off Silvestre, the same player also sliding in to clear a low Patrice Evra cross bound for Tevez.

Anderson blazed over from the edge of the area, which was perhaps no surprise given he has not scored for United in almost two years since arriving from FC Porto.

Tevez was not amused to be replaced by Berbatov midway through the second-half.

Not that a capacity crowd had much time to consider his reaction after a loud rendition of ‘Argentina’ that followed ‘sign him up’, a cry seemingly destined to go unheeded.

Attention was diverted by the thunderous 25-yard effort from Ronaldo that smacked off the crossbar as United strained every sinew in their search for a second.

In response, Cesc Fabregas was off target with a couple of half-chances, Emmanuel Adebayor’s volley flew over and Nicolas Bendtner may have equalised with a header from the free-kick that caused the collision which forced Rio Ferdinand off with a rib injury.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand (Evans 87), Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs 66), Ronaldo, Tevez (Berbatov 66), Rooney. Subs (not used): Foster, Park, Scholes, Rafael Da Silva.

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Toure, Silvestre, Gibbs, Song Billong, Diaby, Walcott (Bendtner 70), Fabregas, Nasri, Adebayor (Eduardo 82). Subs (not used): Fabianski, Denilson, Ramsey, Djourou, Eboue.

Barton could make return

midfielder Joey Barton is being primed for a first-team return in Sunday’s crucial game at Liverpool.

Barton is being lined up for a surprise starting spot at Anfield as Magpies manager Alan Shearer attempts to arrest a run of nine matches without a victory.

The one-time England international has been sidelined since breaking his metatarsal at Manchester City on January 28, but returned to the substitutes bench for Monday’s goalless draw against Portsmouth.

He didn’t feature against Pompey, but with Newcastle desperately needing to add some creativity to their midfield ranks, the 26-yearold is in line for his first start in three months this weekend.

“It was not right to put Barton in on Monday night,” said Shearer, who will learn the full extent of Jose Enrique’s knee injury later today. “However, he will be having a full week’s training this week.

“He will have that behind him for the weekend and he could be involved at Anfield. We did not know how the Portsmouth game was going to play out, but we thought if we needed him for ten or 15 minutes at the end, he could have been an option and we could have given him a run out.”

Barton will not be the only midfielder making an eagerlyawaited comeback on Sunday as Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez last night confirmed that Steven Gerrard will also be returning to action in three days time.

■ Newcastle are lining up a summer move for Norwegian winger Erik Huseklepp – whether they are relegated next month or not. Huseklepp, a 24-year-old midfielder with SK Brann, heads a list of Scandinavian targets.