Ryan Giggs handed Manchester United an injury-time lifeline just when Alex Ferguson's European Cup dream looked to have died.

The flying winger blasted the ball high into the Juventus net in the 91st minute for an equaliser United barely deserved on a night of tension at the Theatre of Dreams.

The goal equalised Antonio Conte's first-half strike which had turned Old Trafford into a jangling bag of nerves.

As it is, Ferguson's Holy Grail of emulating Matt Busby's 1968 heroes is hanging by a thread after United were given an Italian lesson in the art of smash-and-grab soccer.

The away goal gives United a huge task in Turin in a fortnight's time. They will claim they had more chances. And it's true they had to endure the agony of seeing an 86th-minute 'goal' from Teddy Sheringham ruled out for offside.

They saw Italian goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi save brilliantly from a last-minute Paul Scholes header. And for much of the second-half watched as the ball fizzed like a pinball around the Juventus penalty area.

But, quite frankly, this was one European match too far for United. A match which, even with their strongest and fittest team, proved that they were just a notch below eclipsing sides at the very highest level.

For much of the time, they were out-thought, out-foxed, out-skilled by an Italian side supposed to be reeling from its own internal problems.

Rubbish. Juventus were bidding to become the first team to reach four consecutive finals since the great Real Madrid side 40 years ago.

And with players of the class of Frenchman Zinedine Zidane and Dutchman Edgar Davids controlling large chunks of this game they threatened to make United's faces take on the colour of their shirts.

In truth, Juventus had enough clear chances to make the second leg a formality, and at times, their superiority was embarrassing.

United began brightly enough as befitted their reputation as the most attacking side in the competition. But anyone who thought Juventus would be content to sit back and soak up the pressure was mistaken.

From the first few minutes, it was clear that this Juventus side were a much better organised and potent proposition than United's last victims, Inter Milan.

Their intention was clear. They had come for an away goal, and the positive way in which Zidane, the world's best player, and Davids set about their work, it always looked as if they would be rewarded.

Indeed, after early sparring, United received their first serious warning on 15 minutes when an exquisite ball over the defence landed at the feet of Filippo Inzaghi in acres of space inside United's penalty area.

The Italian striker spun sweetly before firing a low, left-foot shot which goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was happy to turn away for a corner.

The Italians were too often swifter to the ball, more composed in possession and technically more adept.

They might be seventh in Serie A - having lost to bottom club Empoli at the weekend - still reeling from the departure of coach Marcello Lippi and still feeling their way under new coach Carlo Ancelotti but they oozed class.

Where the Inter Milan side which United defeated last month were a side of talented individuals, this Juventus side was a much more powerful collective unit.

Yes, Beckham went close with a 20-yard free-kick after Andy Cole had been brought down by Didier Deschamps, but when the away goal came, it was just reward for Juventus's adventure.

It arrived in the 25th minute and owed as much to the flat-footed nature of United's defence as to the alert thinking of Davids - Juve's most dangerous midfield man.

Zidane had teased the United defence on the edge of the area and when he lost possession, the ball squirted to Davids who slid a superbly-precise ball into the path of Antonio Conte.

With Henning Berg and Jaap Stam mere spectators, the Italian midfielder swivelled and struck a sweet, left-foot shot past Schmeichel.

A stunned silence gripped the Theatre of Dreams, save for a small black and white enclave of 3,000 Italian supporters. The message was clear - this was going to be a tough night.

It could have been even worse for United. For after they had tried to respond with a wayward Cole header and a long-range effort from Roy Keane, Juventus should have stretched their lead.

First Gianluca Pessotto was put in by the irrepressible Davids, and Schmeichel could only watch in agony as the Italian's curling shot sailed past the post.

And then seconds before the interval, Zidane, racing down the right, crossed dangerously, only for Inzaghi to stab his shot wide when he should have done better.

Ferguson's response was to replace Berg with the speedier Ronny Johnsen at half-time - but the feeling was growing that this was not going to be United's night.

No-one protects a 1-0 scoreline quite like Italians - but give United credit, they surged forward with courage in relentless pursuit of the equaliser. At times it looked like Manchester's version of the Light Brigade.

Paul Scholes put Cole through with an incisive 40-yard ball only for the United striker to blast his shot high and wide.

A long-range Scholes effort went wide, and Giggs' header from a swirling Beckham corner brought an agile save from Italian 'keeper Peruzzi.

No, you couldn't fault the quantity of United's attacking effort, it was the quality at the highest level which left much to be desired.

Too often Cole proved that he does, as Glenn Hoddle once famously pointed out, need a hatful of chances to get one on target, let alone score.

In the 79th minute, Ferguson took off the ineffective Dwight Yorke and replaced him with Teddy Sheringham in a desperate last throw for the equaliser. Suddenly United were even more eager, more desperate.

A Keane shot cannoned off Sheringham into the Juve net but the striker was ruled offside. Then Cole again went close but it seemed it wasn't to be - until deep into injury time.

Beckham hooked the ball back from the dead-ball line, a cluster of heads rose to compete for it, and this time it fell to Giggs all alone and with time to crash his left-foot shot into the roof of the net.

Suddenly, the joint was jumping with sheer relief. United had got what they barely deserved, and what their supporters, in truth, had despaired of - an equaliser.

And for a fortnight, at least, the Ferguson dream is alive and well.