Lyon 2-2 Man Utd

Man Utd reaction Champions League photos

Ruud van Nistelrooy became Manchester United's greatest European goalscorer as they staged a stirring Champions League comeback from two down in Lyon.

Lyon were in command at half-time, with goalkeeper Tim Howard gifting them the lead after 34 minutes by dropping Juninho's free-kick for Cris to score.

Pierre-Alain Frau fired a second after a flowing move 10 minutes later.

Van Nistelrooy broke Denis Law's record of 29 goals with a flying header before levelling from close range on the hour.

It was a brilliant recovery by United but manager Sir Alex Ferguson will be concerned by a shambolic first-half show.

United surprisingly left Alan Smith on the bench, despite his outstanding start to the season, with Paul Scholes pushing up alongside Van Nistelrooy in attack.

And he witnessed a dismal 45 minutes as United were put under severe pressure.

Lyon were in almost total control, apart from an early flurry when Eric Djemba-Djemba volleyed narrowly over the top and Ryan Giggs fired across goal.

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Claudio Cacapa headed inches wide as Lyon turned the screw, then after 19 minutes a Mikael Silvestre error let in Florent Malouda.

Malouda looked certain to score but was denied by a crucial block from Howard.

But it was all one-way traffic and Scholes was forced to head off the line from Frau.

It was only a matter of time before United conceded - and when they did it was another nightmare moment for out-of-sorts keeper Howard after 34 minutes.

The American hopelessly fumbled Juninho's 30-yard free-kick and Cris scored from inside the six-yard box.

Lyon were rampant and added a second on the stroke of half-time.

John O'Shea's loose ball paved the way for Sylvain Wiltord to race half the length of the field before setting up Frau for a cool finish with the outside of his foot.

Ferguson clearly ordered his players to produce better after the break - and they delivered a stirring response to draw level within 15 minutes of the re-start.

Van Nistelrooy broke Law's record after 56 minutes, with a header the great man would have been proud of - arching to head home Ronaldo's cross.

And he was then on hand to latch on to Ronaldo's mis-kick to beat Gregory Coupet.

Lyon were then stung into action and Scholes was forced to kick off the line from Wiltord.

And United were lucky to remain on level terms when substitute Nilmar somehow shot wide of an open goal from only three yards.

United survived another score in the dying seconds when Juninho struck the outside of the post.

Academy: Score the Ruud way with Van Nistelrooy's masterclass

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Lyon: Coupet, Reveillere, Cris, Cacapa, Abidal, Wiltord (Clement 88), Essien, Juninho, Malouda, Govou (Ben Arfa 75), Frau (Nilmar 65).
Subs Not Used: Puydebois, Diatta, Bergougnoux, Berthod.

Booked: Cris.

Goals: Cris 35, Frau 44.

Man Utd: Howard, O'Shea (Phil Neville 83), Brown, Silvestre, Heinze, Ronaldo, Keane, Djemba-Djemba, Giggs, Scholes, Van Nistelrooy (Smith 79).
Subs Not Used: Carroll, Bellion, Kleberson, Richardson, Fletcher.

Booked: Heinze.

Goals: Van Nistelrooy 56, 61.

Att: 40,000.

Ref: Wolfgang Stark (Germany).