Oliver Holt: Sir Alex Ferguson should be a happy camper

No Late goals and no miracle comebacks. No high-scoring draws and no raging emotions.

Manchester United and the Nou Camp may not be made for 0-0 stalemates but last night that's what United got and exactly what they needed.

Cavalier defending got them knocked out of the Champions League at this stage plenty of times before. The names of Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan attest to that.

And so even if we didn't get an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer moment last night or even an Andy Cole/Dwight Yorke moment, we got something different to admire.

Most of all, we got some brilliant defending from Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown against a Barcelona side who appeared to have forgotten they were supposed to be in terminal decline.

And even though this tie is still finely balanced, United did enough last night to suggest they will complete the job at Old Trafford on Tuesday.

The result emphasised not only that United are not a oneman team but that they are just as reliant on their excellent back four as they are on Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs.

It was Ferdinand and Brown who had to pick up the pieces after Ronaldo missed a third-minute penalty.

A goal then would have destroyed Barcelona's fragile morale but Ronaldo's miss energised them instead and brought Lionel Messi to the fore. Patrice Evra played Messi OK but only in the same way a storm drain plays a flood - he did his best to limit the damage.

Coming back from injury, Messi was not at his best but his dribbling and his close control was still mesmeric. Even half fit, even though he played for only two thirds of the match, he was a joy to watch.

But United didn't let him run amok, and they kept his teammates at bay. Ferdinand marked Samuel Eto'o out of the game and Brown provided block after block.

There is, of course, an argument that Barcelona were there to be taken, that United could have killed them off. But Barcelona didn't stick to that script. They looked better than that. Like a team that only has the Champions League left to play for and was ready to give it everything.

In those circumstances, United have to be content with 0-0. They have to accept that this adventure in the Nou Camp was never going to live up to 1999, no matter what happened.

This stadium is thick with misty-eyed reminiscences for United. The patch of grass in one penalty area where Solskjaer stuck out his right boot to win the European Cup Final against Bayern Munich in 1999.

The strip of turf at the other end where Yorke and Cole combined so beautifully to score one of United's best European goals in a magnificent 3-3 draw with Barcelona the same season.

The centre circle where Sir Alex Ferguson stood in a replica United top on the eve of the final, watching over his side in their final training session.

And the place on the touchline where the European Cup sat on its plinth, prompting Ferguson to tell his team at half time they might never get so close to it again unless they raised their game.

The irony is that United were far from their best when they beat Bayern. Nor were they at their most fluent and dangerous last night. Ronaldo threatened only fitfully. Rooney did not look fully fit.

Carlos Tevez worked hard but offered little creatively.

Barcelona threatened to overwhelm United at the start of the second half but could not press home the advantage.

If last night didn't measure up to the 1999 final or the 3-3 game, then United won't mind too much. They're a big step closer to another final at last and that was enough for this chapter of their Nou Camp history.

THE ODDS

Man Utd are 8/13 to qualify for the Champions League Final after their draw at the Nou Camp, with Barcelona 5/4. CHAMPS LEAGUE 2008

CHAMPS LEAGUE 2008

Man Utd 13/8

Chelsea 9/4

Barcelona 3/1

Liverpool 9/2