Ferguson fears realised

Neither side was able to break the deadlock in an attrition 0-0 draw between Manchester United FC and LOSC Lille Métropole at Old Trafford. The game saw eight yellow cards, including two for United midfielder Paul Scholes, and a broken cheekbone for captain Ryan Giggs, who had gone closest to scoring when he hit the post with a first-half free-kick. Lille have still not scored in three UEFA Champions League matches, but their hopes of reaching the knockout stages have been boosted by the result.

Sir Alex Ferguson, United coach
Ryan Giggs has broken his cheekbone, he did well to carry on [after the incident]. We don’t know too much at the moment but he definitely won't be playing against Tottenham [Hotspur FC] on Saturday. I thought this game was going to be difficult. They committed themselves and we never got a great opening to finish them off. For a short spell at the beginning of the second half I thought we could do something, then the sending-off came and the first thing you have to do is make sure you don't do anything stupid. Lille are a progressive club and they have come a long way in the last few years.

Claude Puel, Lille coach
Maybe we missed our chance tonight as we had the element of surprise, it might be more difficult to play them at the Stade de France. Scholes made two bad tackles and the referee did what he had to do. Although they'll miss Scholes in two weeks they will have [Wayne] Rooney back which will more than make up for it. A point tonight is not ideal but we would probably have taken it at the start of the game. I'm encouraged by the performance tonight, my only doubt was with the final ball. We sometimes passed it too early because of United's pressure.