1 Caution instead of flair is Moyes's downfall again

This was one of the more eagerly awaited teamsheets of the David Moyes reign, and while picking a side for the away game of a two-legged tie can sometimes be an understandable exercise in caution, the starting XI put forward by Moyes would have disappointed many a United supporter.

While it was widely expected that the United manager would opt for the industry of Antonio Valencia on the right flank, the inclusion of Ashley Young ahead of either Danny Welbeck or the mysteriously absent Adnan Januzaj on the left set the safety-first tone. The choice of Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick as the defensive shield confirmed it, and the English pair were woeful on the night. Like Welbeck, Marouane Fellaini, Shinji Kagawa, and Ryan Giggs were all warming the bench and were more than entitled to wonder why. Welbeck and Kagawa were belatedly introduced on the hour, but by then it was 2-0 and the damage was done. Moyes seems to have a natural distrust of some of his more creative players, but this team is crying out for their inclusion.

2 Whatever is worth £300,000 a week, that wasn't it

Short of picking the team and having the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand at Old Trafford renamed in his honour, there is little more Manchester United could have done for Wayne Rooney over the past week. Call it a statement, a show of faith or an act of desperation, the 28-year-old now expected to inspire United for the next five years put in a performance that is all too familiar to supporters of United and England in recent years. Not only was the £300,000-per-week man ineffective despite being awarded the creative forward role craved by some of his team-mates, his suspect temperament that has so often exasperated from Gelsenkirchen to Podgorica was again in evidence in some petulant moments of frustration. On this evidence he hardly looked like the captain of United's next generation he is so handsomely rewarded to become. With Juan Mata ineligible for the Champions League, like United as a whole Rooney simply has to improve in the second leg.

3 Creaking old guard were reunited to no avail

Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have not started too many games together (nine before Tuesday night) since the arrival of Moyes, and with the latter definitely leaving this summer and the former's future also unclear, the defensive old guard had seemed to be on the way out. But Moyes had paired them together in Saturday's 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, and there was a recognisable solidity to United in that game, so perhaps it was no surprise he did so again here.

The Serb immediately proved his worth with a superb block to deny Alejandro Domínguez early on and it was not the only decisive challenge he made. Ferdinand, on the other hand, looked rusty and more like a player on his way in the summer. The fact that the opposite is the case is yet another worry for Moyes, as is the fact that none of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones or Jonny Evans yet look like natural successors to the old warhorses.

4 Arsenal may have found another gem in Joel Campbell

Not many outside of the Emirates know much about Joel Campbell, but Arsène Wenger is a big fan of the 21-year-old Costa Rican, and 10 minutes into the second half he showed why with the exquisite turn inside Michael Carrick and left-foot curled finish beyond David de Gea. Wenger signed the forward in the summer of 2011, but work permit issues have seen him spend time on loan with Lorient in France, Real Betis in Spain, and this season in Greece. He had scored eight goals in 24 appearances before Tuesday night, but this one is now firmly the highlight of his fledgling career, and perhaps one that might raise an eyebrow from Roy Hodgson ahead of England's meeting with Costa Rica in June. Looking at the game but limited display of Yaya Sanogo against Bayern Munich last Wednesday Arsenal supporters may wonder quite why Campbell is still exiled, but perhaps this was why Wenger opted against signing another striker in the January transfer window …

5 This was a disastrous result, but all is not lost

Olympiakos are Champions League stalwarts and don't lack for experience, but something that has remained as a constant of many of their European Cup campaigns is that they are nowhere near as strong away from their Piraeus stronghold. Despite their miserable season so far, United will know that overturning a two-goal deficit at Old Trafford on 19 March to reach the quarter-finals is not beyond them, even if they have not done so since 1984 when Bryan Robson's heroics accounted for Barcelona in the Cup Winners Cup. Moyes now has little choice but to be more adventurous in the second leg, and the likes of Welbeck, Kagawa and Januzaj will surely be considered as starters, not to mention a player who has started more Champions League games than any other in the tournament's history and has two winner's medals to show for it: Giggs. It promises to be a night when experience and quality come to the fore for United and the veteran Welshman is surely a better man to orchestrate a comeback than Cleverley or Carrick. It will be a night when their season, and perhaps even their manager's future, is now on the line. Ferguson built a legacy on Old Trafford comebacks, how his beleaguered successor needs to summon one now.