Tevez late strike keeps honours even

Carlos Tevez netted a crucial late equaliser to give Manchester United the edge in their Champions League knock-out tie in Lyon. Sir Alex's men battled through a nervous night in France and will be happy with a point after Benzema gave the hosts the lead on 54 minutes. The draw sets up a perfectly poised second-leg at Old Trafford on March 4th.

Pundits tipped United to win the game with Lyon struggling for form domestically as they chase a seventh straight league title. However, they produced a solid display against the English champions and limited United to few notable chances throughout

The visitors enjoyed plenty of first-half pressure but struggled to break through a resilient Lyon backline. Ryan Giggs, making an astonishing 100th Champions League appearance, played a neat through ball to Wayne Rooney but Gregory Coupet denied the England forward as the game got into its stride. However, United rarely looked all that dangerous and it wasn't surprising to see the two sides go in level at the interval.

Lyon's patient and disciplined approach paid off as they took the lead after the half-time break. A moment of brilliant from Benzema, a man constantly linked with a move to OT, broke the deadlock. The striker picked up a Jeremy Toulalan pass, turned superbly on the edge of the box and lashed an excellent effort passed Edwin Van Der Sar.

United were starting to look tired after bossing possession with little reward and Ferguson made much-needed changes. Giggs, who will be disappointed with his display, and Paul Scholes were pulled off with Nani and Tevez adding a new dimension to the team's approach. Michael Carrick also came on to replace Owen Hargreaves as the Reds tried to keep their Treble dream on track with a crucial away goal.

United looked to throw caution to the wind and find an equaliser but they were almost punished at the other end as Juninho sent a free-kick inches wide and Clerc forced VDS into a crucial save. However, United started to press in the closing stages and after Ronaldo went close with a free-kick, Tevez fired home from the resulting corner after a defensive error from Lyon's Fred. The travelling support went mad and the Red Devils will now be favourites to go through to the quarter-finals.

We'll take that!

Full Time - Olympique Lyonnais 1-1 Manchester United
Attendance - 39,230

Lyon: Coupet, Reveillere, Squillaci, Boumsong, Grosso, Clerc (Ben Arfa 78), Juninho (Bodmer 73), Toulalan, Kallstrom, Govou, Benzema (Fred 83).
Substitutes Not Used: Vercoutre, Cris, Delgado, Keita.

Manchester Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes (Tevez 65), Hargreaves (Carrick 78), Anderson, Giggs (Nani 65), Rooney.
Substitutes Not Used: Kuszczak, Saha, O'Shea, Fletcher.