Star act stalls on centre stage

In the end Internazionale coach Jose Mourinho was left to vent his anger at referee Luis Medina Cantalejo.

The Portuguese coach went as far as suggesting the match official had favoured the holders, saying: "When we go there [to Old Trafford] we will not have the same referee.

"If we have another referee it gives so much protection to the away team, then it will be us who go to the quarter-finals. Hopefully in the next game the referee will be on our side."

Cynics may view Mourinho's veiled swipe was a clever ploy to deflect attention away from his side's failure to deliver on his promise of upsetting Sir Alex Ferguson's side in the bearpit that is the San Siro.

And perhaps the biggest disappointment was Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who Mourinho had dared to suggest should have been the recipient of the World Player of the Year award - not Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Swedish man mountain provided only fleeting glimpses of his undisputed gifts but was, in the main, well shackled by patched-up centre-back Jonny Evans and the imperious Rio Ferdinand.

Young Irishman Evans had only been able to take part in a full training session the night before but did not look hindered in arguably the biggest game of his fledgling career. John O'Shea also coped well to shrug off a heel problem and made Sulley Muntari look like a square peg in a round hole.

For all the bluff that comes with Mourinho he was gracious enough to accept that Inter will have to show a marked improvement at Old Trafford in the return leg to defy the latest football betting and progress to the quarter-finals of Europe's elite club competition.

United will have key defender Nemanja Vidic back from suspension on March 11 and can extend their proud unbeaten Champions League run to 21 games if they do what the latest match bets suggest and send the runaway Serie A leaders packing.

Nick Walsh writes features and betting previews for Betfair.