It was, as Alex Ferguson succinctly put it, the greatest step forward Manchester United have taken under his management.



In recent seasons United have struggled to compete against Europe’s true giants, often finding themselves outwitted by continental opponents with clever systems, who boast players popping up between the lines. At times, you wondered about whether Ferguson was capable of devising a sufficient tactical plan — but here, over the course of two legs against Inter Milan, he came up with two.



Mircea Lucescu’s Inter play a formation rarely witnessed in Premier League football — essentially a 3-4-2-1, which depends upon man-marking in defence, and players drifting inside from the flanks to provide options between the lines. This presented Ferguson, still committed to his usual 4-4-2, with an interesting dilemma at both ends of the pitch.



In particular, having often seen his side unable to cope with clever No 10s capable of...