Lyon v Manchester Utd:Alex Ferguson could be tracked down yesterday to an opulent hotel on the banks of the Rhone, embracing some old French acquaintances and clinking wine glasses with wife Cathy, a surprise addition to the entourage for tonight's Champions League tie against Lyon.
Is the Premier League's oldest manager any different in the company of his wife? It would not appear so judging by his acerbic reaction when the subject of Manchester United's latest contretemps with Arsenal came up.
Ferguson always enjoys being in France - he and Cathy holiday on the Cote d'Azur every year and he has taught himself French using audio cassettes - and his love for the big occasion means he is at his most convivial before United's European excursions. Yet his mood here has been darkened by what he perceives as favouritism towards Arsenal from the Football Association by not punishing William Gallas for an off-the-ball kick at Nani during Saturday's FA Cup tie at Old Trafford.
His suspicion is the disciplinary department at Soho Square is more reticent in tackling Arsenal than it is when it involves his own club. The United manager chose his words carefully but stated, pointedly, he was "not surprised" and queried whether another club would have been granted the same leniency.
Ferguson's priority is the challenge presented by the French champions this evening but the subject of Arsenal's indiscipline is clearly still a raw one and there were some thinly veiled criticisms of the referee for sending off only one of Arsene Wenger's players.
"Alan Wiley had a tough game and he had probably had enough [ after sending off Emmanuel Eboue]. He was probably quite happy to draw a marker under it and get a rest for the rest of the week. It was very difficult for him in the second half because there could have been three or four red cards for Arsenal. The important thing is that everyone has been made aware of the [ Gallas] incident."
Much of Ferguson's pre-match analysis, however, was taken up with a eulogy for Ryan Giggs, who is set to join the exclusive band of players to play 100 times in the Champions League, tonight's game leaving him only 13 short of Bobby Charlton's record of 759 all-time appearances for United.
"It would be nice to think he could possibly break the record in the final," Ferguson speculated, and there was a tribute from Charlton as well. "I hope he beats it. He's a great player with a great record and, if he beats mine, I'll be cheesed off if they don't let me present him with something."
Carlos Tevez's problems with the traffic meant the plane carrying United's team to France was delayed half an hour yesterday, and Ferguson will hope things run smoother at the Stade Gerland. Lyon have won the French title for the past six seasons but they lost 1-0 to Le Mans at the weekend and could be vulnerable in a defence that misses the injured Brazilian Cris, whose reputation here can be gauged by his nickname of "Sheriff".
Ferguson will believe he has the attacking players to trouble Jean-Alain Boumsong, formerly of Newcastle, while Cristiano Ronaldo could have a big impact on the right. Fabio Grosso may be a World Cup winner with Italy but his performances at left back have attracted criticism.
It is in attack where Lyon are at their best, and Ferguson's desire to combat the threat of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa may tempt him to replace Michael Carrick with the more combative Owen Hargreaves. Giggs will replace Nani as Ferguson opts for an experienced line-up.
Lyon are confident. Bernard Lacombe, the former manager now in a technical role, believes United's Achilles' heel can be found in a defence that is "very fixed but can crumble when a certain kind of pressure is exerted", whereas Joel Bats, the former France goalkeeper who is on the club's coaching staff, has noted Edwin van der Sar's "exploitable weaknesses".
