Michael Carrick: Draw like a defeat

Michael Carrick offered "no excuses" as the Manchester United players reflected on the loss of two Champions League points at Old Trafford.

The final scoreline of 3-3 seemed far-fetched when the Reds were 2-0 up at the interval, even if visitors FC Basel had been lively at times in the first period. But while Carrick says his side were warned against complacency - "We said at half-time that the game wasn’t over" - the hosts still contrived to toss away the advantage as Alexander Frei (2) and his namesake Fabien Frei fired Basel into a surprise lead.

"It was a bit of a shock to find ourselves 3-2 down after being 2-0 up," said Carrick. "We’ve  no excuses, we threw it away. It’s not like us at all."

Finding a goal at the death was more like United, of course - "What we expect of ourselves really is to keep going. We believe that if we get a chance, we’ll score," said Carrick.

"Thankfully Ashley Young put it away and we might even have nicked a win in the end when Berba had half a chance. But that was probably asking too much."

Young's last-gasp goal - so typical of the Reds - perfectly illustrated Carrick's next point that the summer signing from Aston Villa has fully acclimatised to life at Old Trafford.

"He’s settled in quick and bought into everything about the club and how we approach things," praised Carrick. "He’s got bags of character, he’s kept going tonight and got his reward."

The 3-3 draw with FC Basel leaves United with only two points from the opening two games but the bonus on the Reds to win the next two matches, away and at home to Champions League newcomers Otelul Galati, was always there insists Carrick.

"[The situation in Group C] is not the end of the world but it's not ideal either," the midfielder admitted. "We’ve given ourselves a lot of hard work but we’re capable of doing it.

"We were looking to win those two Galati games anyway so if we can approach them as we normally do then we’re confident we can pull through.

"Tonight we'll take a draw yet it still feels a bit like a defeat. But we’ll not get too down about it, we’ll move on and bounce back. We have to."

Nicolas Cage could be a "Vampire" :)

This old photograph appears to show actor Nicolas Cage made up for his latest movie role – but in fact the picture dates back to the American Civil War. 

 An antique dealer has put the image up for auction on eBay and is demanding at least $1MILLION – the equivalent of £635,000. 

 

  

The seller jokes that the picture is proof Cage is not 47 as he claims – but an immortal vampire. 

 The image of a man looking identical to the Con Air star dates from around 1870. 

Jack Mörd, from Seattle, Washington, says the photo was taken of a man in Bristol, Tennessee. 

He said: "My theory is that he allows himself to age to a certain point, maybe 70, 80 or so, then the actor 'Nicolas Cage' will 'die'. 

"But in reality, the undead vampire 'Nicolas Cage' will have rejuvenated himself and appeared in some other part of the world, young again, and ready to start all over." 

Mr Mörd runs The Thanatos Archive and says he is a fan of Victorian-era photography. 

He assured prospective bidders: "This is not a trick photo of any kind and has not been manipulated in Photoshop or any other graphics program. 

"It's an original photo of a man who lived in Bristol, TN, sometime around the Civil War."

Chelsea's Juan Mata hopes to emulate Ryan Giggs style of football

  Juan Mata heads to Old ­Trafford on Sunday dreaming of meeting one of Manchester United’s all-time greats.

Chelsea’s £24m summer signing from Valencia idolised golden oldie Ryan Giggs when he was growing up in Spain.

Now he could be playing against the winger, 37, who rolled back the years with another stunning goal in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Mata said: “When I was growing up, I had many idols, like Dennis Bergkamp and Gianfranco Zola.

But Ryan Giggs was an inspiration to me. I think he showed what he’s worth with that goal. He’s one of the best ­wingers ever. Perhaps I noticed Giggs because he plays in the same position as me.

He was incredibly impressive, with his tackling, dribbling and general style."

Sir Alex Ferguson going nowhere

Alex Ferguson insists he still has no plans to retire — even though he turns 70 at the end of this year.

Fergie will clock up 25 years as Manchester United boss on November 6. Plenty of other names have been mentioned as possible successors over the last quarter of a century.

But Fergie has seen them all off and insists he will keep modern-day pretenders to his throne such as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola waiting for a while longer yet.

Ferguson said: "Over the years I've had the question who do I think could replace me? Now some of the coaches who people were talking about to replace me don't have jobs any more.

So it becomes very difficult because someone who I think has potential may be sacked by his club and disappear.

I think you would need someone very experienced in the long-term. But I have absolutely no idea... and anyway I'm not retiring!"