Supersub Giggs eases United into last eight

A stunning display by Ryan Giggs inspired Manchester United to a 3-0 win over Juventus here at the Delle Alpi stadium and eased the English giants into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The Welsh international came off the bench for Diego Forlan in the eighth minute to score twice - his second goal a brilliant example of wing play - before being replaced by Ruud Van Nistelrooy early in the second-half.

The Dutch substitute netted United's third in the 63rd minute with an easy tap-in for his tenth goal of the campaign to settle a surprisingly one-sided Group D clash.

United's win takes them into the last eight of the competition for the seventh consecutive year, having taken maximum points from their four second phase matches, while Italian champions Juventus still have work to do to advance.

Four years ago United beat Juventus 3-2 here in the second leg of the semi-finals after being two goals down and went on to win the trophy for the second time in their history.

United coach Alex Feguson was beaming after watching his side move a step closer to the final which will be contested at Old Trafford.

"It was a fantastic performance by us - I thought we played great counter-attacking football," said the Scotsman.

"When you make changes to the team and take risks you have to rely on a little luck, but when we attacked we were a big threat to Juventus."

Ferguson said he had no intention of bringing Giggs on so early, with one eye on Sunday's League Cup final against Liverpool.

"Football can be a funny game - I didn't want to use Ryan tonight," Ferguson added.

"But we had to use him because of Diego's injury and he turned out to be the match winner."

Ferguson explained why he took Giggs off just after the break.

"He picked up a knock and wasn't running freely," he said.

Juventus coach Marcello Lippi, who before the match said United's best performances are always away from home, blamed his side's poor performance on tiredness.

"The main problem for us was physical," he said. "We didn't look as sharp as United and we were punished for our mistakes.

"Having said that every piece of fortune went United's way. These are not excuses, this is the truth."

Juventus welcomed back several key players who had recovered from the flu which spread through the club last week and wreaked havoc with coach Marcello Lippi's plans for the tie in Manchester which United won 2-1.

United began nervously and found themselves under pressure from the opening whistle.

Czech midfielder Pavel Nedved almost gave Juve the perfect start in the 10th minute, but his deflected shot cannoned off the post, to the relief of United's static defence.

Mauro Camoransei had his goalbound shot charged down as Juve continued to press, before Marco Di Vaio was denied by Rio Ferdinand's last-ditch tackle.

United suffered an early blow when Forlan had to come off injured in the 11th minute to be replaced by Giggs, who made an immediate impact.

With a quarter of an hour gone, Juan Sebastian Veron broke free on the right wing and appeared to foul his marker, Gianluca Zambrotta.

But as the Juventus defence stopped awaiting a decision in their favour, referee Markus Merk waved play on and the Argentinian crossed for Giggs who side-footed home an easy chance.

Juventus woke from their slumber and came within inches of levelling when David Trezeguet's powerful header rattled the crossbar and only a brave dive at the feet of Camoranesi kept United's lead intact.

Camoranesi and United midfielder Nicky Butt both saw efforts strike the woodwork before United doubled their lead in style in the 41st minute.

Giggs picked up the ball inside his own-half and showed Lilian Thuram a clean pair of heels with a quick turn of pace.

He then went on a forceful diagonal run before placing a low angled right-foot shot wide of Gianluigi Buffon and into the bottom corner.

Trezeguet fired high over the bar in the 51st minute after Fabien Barthez spilled the ball on the edge of his box before Ferguson replaced Giggs with van Nistelrooy.

The Dutch international put the game beyond doubt 18 minutes after the interval, prodding the ball past Buffon after Igor Tudor's weak chested back pass failed to reach his goalkeeper.