Graphic: Giggs passes endurance test

Call it the end of an aura. In José Mourinho’s dreams, this was going to be the evening when he made an irresistible audition to be Sir Alex Ferguson’s eventual successor, but the self-anointed Special One exited the Old Trafford stage to the sound of catcalls, left to ponder an uncertain future as well as the distance that Manchester United have advanced in the 18 months since he departed English football.

As Sir Alex Ferguson was remarkably eager to point out, United were nowhere near as convincing last night as in the goalless first leg, but these days they do not have to be at their imposing best to win matches, whether in the Barclays Premier League, the Champions League or any other competition that remains within their compass. They have developed an insatiable habit of success and, with headed goals in the fourth minute of each half, from Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo, they were too strong for an Inter Milan team who ultimately lacked the class, composure and perhaps above all the conviction to hold up the United bandwagon.

With the utmost reluctance, Mourinho, the Inter coach, must pass that challenge on to his old adversary Rafael Benítez, who takes his Liverpool team to Old Trafford in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday in the hope of thwarting United’s pursuit of glory on all fronts.

It looks like a tall order — if not because of the quality of United’s play, which was remarkably patchy at times last night, then because of the confidence and assurance that they have accumulated over the past couple of seasons. Even in their more anxious moments, they rarely looked in serious danger of having their defence of the Champions League ended prematurely by Mourinho’s functional but uninspiring team.

Inter certainly had their moments in the 45 minutes of action that separated United’s two goals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic showing glimpses of the capricious talent that led Mourinho to propose him, rather than Ronaldo, as World Player of the Year. But when opportunity knocked for the Inter forward in the 28th minute, left unattended six yards out from Maicon’s free kick, he headed the ball down and up against the crossbar. Four minutes into the second half, Ronaldo, engaging head and brain together for the first time all evening, rose imperiously to meet Wayne Rooney’s cross from almost the same spot in front of the Stretford End. The net bulged. Game, set and match — though, in truth, the tie should have been settled in Milan 15 days earlier, when United, planting a flag deep in Inter territory almost from the start, dominated but somehow came away without scoring. Here they were nothing like so impressive, Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes lacking their usual assurance in midfield and Rio Ferdinand and Vidic not quite their usual imperturbable selves in dealing with the unpredictable Ibrahimovic.

Vidic, though, emerged in credit, scoring the goal that eased the tension. No doubt Mourinho will argue that the Serbia defender should have been suspended, having escaped with only a one-match ban for a red card in the Club World Cup final against Liga de Quito, but it is a moot point; Inter’s marking was so appalling that the goal was there for the taking.

Mourinho claimed that he had shown “50 DVDs” in an attempt to familiarise his players with United’s threat from set-pieces, but Patrick Vieira, making an inauspicious return to England, simply lost track of Vidic, whose header drifted past Júlio César from Ryan Giggs’s corner.

Giggs was a rare exception to the malaise that gripped United thereafter, the 35-year-old looking every inch the ageing thoroughbred as he showed that he still has the quick feet to accompany an even quicker mind. Scholes, though, looked his age, gasping for breath as Inter forced their way back into the game, Ibrahimovic laying on two opportunities for Dejan Stankovic, the first a dipping shot that Edwin van der Sar saved at full stretch, the second a snatched effort.

United had gone off the boil completely by the interval and one presumes that they were given a stern warning by Ferguson at half-time because they emerged looking revitalised. Within four minutes Giggs was carrying the ball from right to left and, after Scholes sent the ball farther wide to Rooney, Ronaldo met the cross with a firm header that Júlio César, who frustrated him repeatedly in the first leg, was never going to keep out.

Inter refused to throw in the towel, Adriano striking the woodwork with an acrobatic volley from Esteban Cambiasso’s cross on the hour, but, realistically, the game was up. Ibrahimovic resorted to lazy and self-indulgent shots from 40 yards while United, finally, began to stroke the ball around with their customary assurance.

Rooney seemed eager to rub salt into Inter’s wounds, testing Júlio César from distance and continuing to chase down the opposing full backs as if his life depended on it, but elsewhere thoughts were drifting towards Liverpool’s arrival at Old Trafford.

Not on the terraces, though. For the United supporters, the opportunity to pour derision on Mourinho was too good to resist. “You’re not special any more,” the taunt came from the Stretford End. No doubt he would take issue with that and he made a point of applauding the home support at the final whistle. Flattery, though, will get him nowhere. Self-preservation should be his priority on his return to Milan, while Ferguson and United continue their march on Rome.

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar — J O’Shea, R Ferdinand, N Vidic, P Evra — C Ronaldo, M Carrick, P Scholes (sub: Anderson, 70min), R Giggs — D Berbatov, W Rooney (sub: Park Ji Sung, 84). Substitutes not used: B Foster, J Evans, D Fletcher, D Gibson, C Tévez. Booked: Rooney.

Inter Milan (4-3-2-1): Júlio César — Maicon, I Córdoba, W Samuel, D Santon — P Vieira (sub: S Muntari, 46), E Cambiasso, J Zanetti — D Stankovic (sub: Adriano, 58), M Balotelli (sub: L Figo, 70) — Z Ibrahimovic. Substitutes not used: F Toldo, N Rivas, Maxwell, J Cruz. Booked: Samuel, Muntari.

Referee: W Stark (Germany).

Quarter-finalists
Bayern Munich
Chelsea
Liverpool
Villarreal
Manchester United
Arsenal
Barcelona
Porto

Draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place in Nyon, Switzerland, on March 20. There are no seeds or requirement to keep teams from the same country apart. The draws will be shown live on Sky Sports News and British Eurosport from 11am.