Real Madrid 1, Manchester United 1
Danny Welbeck's first-half header ensured Manchester United left the Bernabeu with a precious away goal from a thrilling Champions League encounter with Real Madrid.
But United old boy Cristiano Ronaldo also left his mark on the last-16 tie with a brilliant equalising header, which he refused to celebrate in recognition of his time at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo also came close with a dipping 40-yard free-kick, whilst David de Gea needed to produce excellent saves to twice deny Fabio Coentrao and the outstanding Mesut Ozil.
There was certainly enough in Real's performance to suggest United would be unwise to claim they now hold a decisive advantage in this two-legged encounter, which will be settled at Old Trafford on March 5, even if Robin van Persie wasted a golden opportunity to seal victory on the night.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had promised the game would not finish goalless and, within five minutes, it became obvious why.
With their bewildering movement, Real had the capacity to cut their opponents' defence to shreds.
Rafael in particular had a torrid time as Ronaldo roamed the visitors' defence, with Ozil providing impressive support.
Angel Di Maria cut inside from his right-wing station and flashed a shot wide before De Gea brilliantly denied Coentrao with a fingertip save to push the full-back's effort onto the post.
With Van Persie also picking up a needless booking when he shoved his hand into Sergio Ramos' face, it was shaping up into one of those nastily uncomfortable European nights - exactly the type United suffered on their last visit to this impressive arena a decade ago.
This Real Madrid are not unbeatable, though, as their current status as Spain's third best team suggests.
And on their first meaningful attack, United got their noses in front.
How simple it was, too, as Welbeck shrugged off Ramos' attentions, them climbed to turn home Wayne Rooney's corner from six yards.
Top scorer for England during 2012, Welbeck's only previous goal for United this season came against Stoke. This was an altogether more memorable addition to the 22-year-old's collection and justification of Ferguson's decision to pick him ahead of more orthodox wide players.
The pity for United was that their lead lasted just 10 minutes.
That Ronaldo should get the equaliser was no shock at all given his tally of 182 goals in 179 games for the Spanish giants prior to tonight's showdown.
The way he hung above Patrice Evra before heading Di Maria's cross past De Gea was reminiscent of the Portugal superstar's goal for United in the 2008 final.
His reaction was subdued. There was no celebration even though he was mobbed by ecstatic team-mates. He emerged from the huddle to wave at the Madrid fans before an almost apologetic hand was waved at the visitors' bench.
Welbeck came agonisingly close to restoring United's lead when he nipped in front of Diego Lopez but touched Van Persie's cross inches wide.
Real carried most of the threat though. And Ozil forced De Gea into a tremendous near-post save as the Red Devils defence was caught out by Xabi Alonso's long ball.
The second period took a bit of time to get going. But Di Maria's shot that De Gea had given up as it whistled wide and Raphael Varane's tangle with Evra that sent the Frenchman flying and had Ferguson off his feet waiting for a free-kick and red card that never came ratcheted it up a notch.
And they had De Gea to thank for not falling behind.
He was the only one alive to the danger as Coentrao crept in at the far post to meet Sami Khedira's deep cross, instinctively kicking the ball away from his goal-line.
Throughout all the mayhem, Van Persie had been a peripheral figure.
It looked like his moment had arrived 15 minutes from time though when, after Lopez had touched his effort onto a post, the Dutchman found himself on his own inside the box as Michael Carrick headed the ball back in.
As Lopez lunged in desperately, Van Persie tried to volley in, only to mis-hit the shot, allowing Alonso to clear off the line.
Khedira nearly made United pay with a snap-shot that brought yet another fine stop out of De Gea before Ronaldo's audacious 40-yard free-kick dipped onto the roof of United's net.
It was the visitors who had the last word, though, as Van Persie brought a fingertip save out of Lopez.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article