Before United's quarter-final against Internazionale their manager Alex Ferguson declared himself immune to the kidology of Italian football teams by famously remarking: 'If they say it is pasta on the plate, I look under the sauce to make sure.'
So without the benefit of a look behind the thigh bandage worn by Juventus' French world player of the year Zinedine Zidane, it was impossible for Ferguson to be kidded that there was an injured leg beneath it.
Zidane, however, managed to convince an audience of media men on Tuesday night that he was struggling when he trained laboriously, his right thigh swathed in more bandages than that of Nora Batty. Those who witnessed this display reported him being not far short of being Zimmer-frame Zidane, though when he warmed up 25 minutes before kick-off, he was skipping around like a spring lamb.
Even allowing for the fact that Easter is associated with miraculous recoveries, it was an incredible turnaround in 24 hours. Zidane continued his hoax by emerging from the tunnel for the match itself with his leg freshly wrapped and seemed to affect a limp as he walked along the United line for the pre-match handshakes.
But any lingering United hopes that he was seriously incapacitated disappeared when Zidane won two full-blooded tackles against Roy Keane in the opening five minutes. And he lived up to his promise that: 'When such a big prize is at stake, you must put up with a little pain.'
But then Zidane has more concrete reasons than even Ferguson to target the Champions League trophy as if it were the Holy Grail. Ferguson, desperate to emulate United's 1968 European Cup winners, experienced a losing semi-final two seasons ago against Borussia Dortmund. But Zidane has tasted the pain of losing in the last two finals and for a man who is such a perpetual winner, that is more real pain than any his thigh could impose upon him.
He had already warned United with the first shot of the game in the opening couple of minutes. And inevitably he began the wonderfully slick move from which Juventus stole their precious goal, combining with Davids, Juventus' own version of Keane. The pair manufactured another superb chance before half time from which Pessotto should have reduced the tie to little more than a formality.
If wishful thinking could win European Cups, United would have been champions several times over. A mood of impossible, and in some cases, dangerous bullishness had grown in Manchester throughout the day. The former manager Wilf McGuinness declared the treble almost a formality, Ferguson agreed it was a distinct possibility and Andy Cole invited Juventus to try and stop him and his strike partner Dwight Yorke.
This mood was laced with jingoism inside Old Trafford where the dangerous assumption was that, having finally completed their first Italian Job, it would be a formality to see off the supposedly ailing Old Lady Of Turin.
The striking partnership between Yorke and Cole was supposed to deliver the dream of a Champions League final place. But it was the midfield axis between Zidane and Davids which was the key to this match. Once again, United were exposed at the highest level as lacking in both technical skills and tactical maturity.
The only talk of trebles in Manchester last night were at the bars where they were helping United fans drown their sorrows. Unless they can recover quickly enough to overcome Arsenal in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final, realistically United's only target will be the Premiership title.
