Ruud hears fanfare

Ruud Van Nistelrooy salutes Manchester United's fans

BBC Sport Online Football Editor Howard Nurse witnesses a rousing show of solidarity from Manchester United's much-maligned supporters at Old Trafford during the win against Olympiakos.

Roy Keane's aptly-named prawn sandwich brigade was nowhere to be seen.

Manchester United were cheered into the second phase of the Champions League with a 3-0 victory against Olympiakos on Tuesday by 66,000 fervent supporters.

It was a European tie United had to win - and although they left it late with a three-goal flurry in the closing stages, Sir Alex Ferguson's red-and-white army never doubted their heroes for a minute.

United's home-grown defender Gary Neville had appealed for a passionate response from the fans following the recent disappointments against Deportivo La Coruna and local rivals Bolton Wanderers.

Van Nistelrooy poses threat

He said beforehand: "It is time for everybody at Manchester United to get behind one another both on and off the pitch.

"There have been murmurings and disquiet over the last couple of games among the fans.

"On Tuesday, if we are winning we hope the fans will sing. If we are drawing we'll need them singing more and if we're losing we hope they'll sing even louder."

Neville need not have worried.

United - despite a penalty miss from Ruud van Nistelrooy - were backed to the hilt by a deafening Old Trafford crowd.

Van Nistelrooy saw his 64th-minute spot-kick superbly saved by Olympiakos keeper Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos with the game poised at 0-0 and United in desperate need of a breakthrough.

Ferguson praised Van Nistelrooy

The Dutchman, who boss Sir Alex Ferguson expects to become "the best striker in Europe", was clearly perturbed.

His head went down, staring at the pitch in disbelief, kicking himself for wasting such a clear chance to put his side ahead.

Lesser players may have melted into the background, but Van Nistelrooy was soon revitalised by the boisterous backing he received from the United crowd.

The rallying cry from the all four sides of Old Trafford quickly put the £19m frontman at ease, urging him to help United break the deadlock.

Van Nistelrooy's persistence was rewarded.

He set-up substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for United's vital first goal, and after Ryan Giggs netted the second, the former PSV Eindhoven striker scored the third himself in injury time.

It was a stunning comeback from United's number 10 - and what a response to the victory from the United faithful.

No prawn sandwiches, just full-blooded fare from one of football's most passionate collection of fans.