Transfer target lays down marker as Nani leads Red revival..

If there was any doubts about the class of Karim Benzema they were blown away in some style on 54 minutes when the Lyon striker scored a goal out of nothing, which ignited the atmosphere in the Stade de Gerland in the first leg of the knock-out stages of Manchester United's Champions League tie last night.

Benzema, 20, has been linked strongly to United over the last few days and not surprisingly given the manner of his goal against the Reds he has been described as Europe's hottest young striker.

Slightly uncharacteristically when talking to the media, Fergie has let it slip that the young Lyon star is a 'possibility' with United looking to sign a new striker following the departure of Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

United had been given fair warning of the French international's ability when mid-way through the first-half Lyon counter-attacked down the Reds exposed left-flank, the ball was eventually cut-back onto the edge of the United penalty area, but thankfully the big striker launched his drive over Van der Sarr's crossbar.

However, that wasn't the best chance of the first-half as United's very own pocket-battle-ship Wayne Rooney spurned a great opportunity to score when put through by Ryan Giggs. However, the England striker hesitated when running at speed with the ball before pulling the trigger, which resulted in Gregory Coupet pulling off a good save. That missed chance could have been proven to be very costly with Lyon taking that second-half lead.

Every time Benzema was on the ball, the home supporters sparked into life chanting his name and it was noticeable that the United defenders looked less that comfortable pretty much every time he was involved in the build-up, though in fairness apart from the Benzema goal and the first-half chance which he spurned Vidic and Company handled him reasonably well.

Despite the game being one of few chances, it was a decent match to watch, with both defences working hard when closing down, as early as the first few minutes Patrice Evra had to make a last-ditch diving challenge to deny Govou from six yards out. At the other end, Scholes burst into the penalty area only to be denied by a Lyon defender and that was the general pattern of the game. Every time United engineered an opening a Lyon player managed to block it.

When the Reds went one-nil down, it was fairly obvious that Fergie needed to make changes, both managers had started the game with a cautious line-up which included just one striker. For United, there was no starting place for Carlos Tevez or Nani, who was one of the Reds heroes against Arsenal in the FA Cup win on Saturday. However, on 65 minutes Fergie made two significant changes when he introduced both players when replacing Giggs and Scholes who had done ok without giving Lyon too many uncomfortable moments.

From the moment Tevez and Nani entered the action the Reds looked far more dangerous with Nani and Tevez at the heart of the Reds probing attacks. On 78 minutes, Carrick came on for Hargreaves, which led to a passage of untidy play with United giving the ball away cheaply, at which point the visiting fans must have started to think about taking Lyon back to Old Trafford with a one goal deficit.

However, United were not done with and it was Nani and Tevez who did the damage when combining to give the Reds a deserved equaliser on 88 minutes. Against the Gunners at the weekend Nani supplied two first-class crosses which led to goals for Fletcher and against Lyon the former Porto winger did it again, this time his arching ball from the right was initially missed by the head of Carlos Tevez, however, the ball eventually fell to Carrick, his effort was blocked, before it pinged back to Tevez who smashed it into the roof of the Lyon net.

The result leaves Fergie with much to ponder regarding selection issues ahead of United's next game, which is Newcastle away. Prior to the Lyon match and on live TV, the United manager as good as admitted that he did not know if he'd got his starting eleven right and while it was a cautious line-up it will be interesting to see who goes on to cement the starting places in midfield over the coming weeks ahead.

Ronaldo was kept in check and didn't impress against Lyon, the same can be said of Rooney, who to be fair was on his own up front, but if the Reds have serious ambitions of winning the Champions League this season, both will have to improve on last night's performance. The truly great players always figure in the big games, no matter what.

Another point that Fergie and his coaching staff may consider is how best to handle the likes of Benzema. Lyon had started with one lone striker, yet United had four at the back. United play with a zonal defence, perhaps they should consider going man-to-man with Vidic marking Benzema.

United's man of the match against Lyon was Nani who made the difference in a short space of time.

Lyon v United preview: It is time for United and Fergie to deliver....

Ahead of United's massive Champions League away tie with Lyon, Fergie has been lavishing praise on Ryan Giggs who is set for his 100th European game for the Red Devils; it's a remarkable achievement for Giggsy. The former Welsh international has had some great games for United in the Champions League, scoring some very important goals down the years. However, like Paul Scholes, he has also had some games to forget in the latter stages of the competition.

United fans won’t need reminding that the Reds Champions League record is largely one of under achievement. On too many previous occasions United have let themselves down badly when losing to the likes of: Porto (2004); Bayer Leverkusen (2002); Monaco (1998); Dortmund (1997) and Galatasaray (1994); The results of those ties will forever be a stain on Ferguson's European record, no matter even if he goes on to win the trophy before he eventually retires, because without exception United should have won those ties.

As for Lyon, United go into the game on the back of a thumping victory over rivals Arsenal in the FA Cup last weekend and that confidence boosting performance against the Gunners was just what the Reds needed ahead of arguably their biggest test to date this season.

Lyon have several players who can hurt United, including their captain Juninho from free-kicks, but most notably Karim Benzema who has been attracting interest from Fergie and many other leading managers around Europe. Hatem Ben Arfa is another who has been linked to the Reds recently.

Many United fans believe that one of the major factors behind the Reds failings in the Champions League is Ferguson's lack of tactical nouse. And once again, it remains to be seen what the manager will do this evening where tactics and selection issues are concerned. Will Fergie play with just Rooney up front as he did against Arsenal? Will the manager sacrifice the legs of Hargreaves or Anderson for the football brain of Scholes? If Tevez, Giggs and Nani are left on the bench, there is the option of including Anderson, Hargreaves and Scholes with Rooney being supported by the likes of Ronaldo, Scholes and Anderson. Given United's devil may care attacking traditions, it is vital that United do not leave themselves wide open to the counter-attack and therefore surely Hargreaves must start this match.

Fergie has many options, but it is vital that he gets it right, because like in so many recent seasons the Champions League is there to be won and United, at least on paper, have as good a chance as any of the remaining clubs. It is time to deliver...