Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck were Manchester United's first-choice strike duo last season but in the club's biggest game of 2012-13 so far they were fielded on opposite flanks and instructed to protect the full-backs. Their selection was not necessarily Sir Alex Ferguson cramming in as many attackers as possible; they were simply the most appropriate options at his disposal. An on-form Antonio Valencia or a younger Ryan Giggs would surely have started instead, considering their defensive responsibilities here.

Ferguson's primary objective was to stop Cristiano Ronaldo cutting inside and shooting from the left, and as anticipated he used Phil Jones against him. He took up good positions to nullify Ronaldo in open play, and although the Portuguese forward's astonishing all-round ability meant he equalised with a towering header, United's strategy had at least forced him away from his preferred zone – he largely plays on the left to maximise his goalscoring potential.

However, devoting such attention to Ronaldo meant leaving gaps for Real's two other pacy wide players, the left-back Fábio Coentrão and the right-winger Angel Di María. The latter often ducked inside to shoot from the edge of the box as Patrice Evra lacked the protection Jones gave to Rafael da Silva.

Welbeck did very well against Alvaro Arbeloa, but Rooney struggled on the right. Told to get goalside of Coentrão before breaking energetically, Rooney performed neither role with great certainty, and was a defensive liability at times. Within the first 10 minutes Coentrao hit a post when allowed space on the edge of the box. On that occasion Rooney had sprinted back to defend against Ronaldo, despite the fact Jones and Da Silva had already doubled up against him. That was a microcosm of United's problem – they concentrated on Ronaldo, but left gaps elsewhere.

For Ronaldo's goal, Rooney should have got tight to Di María and blocked the cross, but instead the Argentinian wingerhad time to steady himself and deliver a superb ball. Midway through the second half Rooney let Coentrão sprint past him towards the far post, forcing David de Gea into an unconventional save with his feet.

It was no surprise that Ferguson shifted both Welbeck and Rooney inside, and then removed them altogether – playing wide was a thankless, draining task for two regular centre-forwards.

In conceding such constant pressure – something Ferguson admitted he was highly concerned by – United were forced to defend the penalty box superbly. There, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans and Jones were faultless while De Gea made a string of highly impressive saves. That means United's weakness in wide areas wasn't decisive, and United created chances of their own, but it would be a surprise to see Ferguson select four outright attackers again in the return leg.