Old Trafford's favourite son Steve Coppell came back to his old stomping ground on Saturday - and gave Manchester United a bloody nose. The Reading boss, who once terrorised opposing full-backs at United, will now take Sir Alex Ferguson’s men back to the Madjeski Stadium following his team’s brave FA Cup fifth round draw at the Theatre of Dreams.

Reading are surely one of the Premiership teams of the season. Newly-promoted from the Championship, and with a shoestring budget and unfamiliar names, they've quietly gone about their business and become the surprise package of the campaign. It's hard to believe that less than 30 years ago, humble little Reading were scrapping around in the old Fourth Division.

In the 21st century, though, they have a multi-millionaire chairman with a passion for vintage cars. John Madjeski has turned the club inside out. After a lifetime at Elm Park he thought Reading deserved something better – and he turned the club inside out. The new, state-of-the-art stadium is named after him and in recent times, Reading have become a real force in the English game.

For boss Coppell, the weekend marked an emotional reunion against his old United muckers. One of football's intellectuals and an economics graduate into the bargain, he's also a dour, expressionless man who never shows his innermost feelings. The legendary cricket commentator John Arlott once said that we take sport too seriously and life too lightly.

Coppell, you suspect, must have been one of Arlott’s friends. For the entire 90 minutes, he stared out on the Old Trafford pitch as if the world had come to an end. He's not exactly a misery-guts but he is one of the game's most radical thinkers. Rather than strutting his funky stuff in some sleazy nightclub, Coppell probably sticks his nose in a big historical novel. Here at his old club, he'd worked out his tactics to perfection, looked at the bigger picture and then snuffed out Manchester United like an old-fashioned Victorian candle.

Until the last five minutes of the first half, Reading were like unwelcome gatecrashers at a birthday party. Nickey Shorey, Steve Sidwell and John Oster had locked up the Reading midfield and then thrown away the key. All three had given the visitors a stability in the middle of the park that Fergie’s men could never work out.
United, seemingly running away with the Premiership, were huffing and puffing but failed to blow the Reading house down.

Michael Carrick still looks one of the most educated footballers in the Premiership but his classy long-and-short-range passes too often went astray. Darren Fletcher looks like a United player and there are moments when he actually plays like one. But the doubts remain and here he looked preoccupied with something else.

As for Christiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese conjuror with several rabbits in his hat, there are times when he looks too clever and elaborate for his own good. We all know about those ostentatious step-overs and drag-backs. But even Ronaldo must know that one of these days he's going to trip over those feet and fall flat on his face.

For all Reading's whole-hearted effort and endeavour, it was United who shaded possession and that man Ronaldo who flicked the switch. Cutting inside from the left, he ran forcefully at the Reading back four. When the move looked to have fizzled out, he laid the ball back to Carrick and the England international drilled a low drive into the net.

A lesser team than Reading would have packed their bags, climbed onto the team bus and headed back to Berkshire. But the Royals are made of a sterner stuff these days and battled their way back into contention. Their football was both careful and constructive, a real treat for the purists with their players stroking the ball about from feet to feet.

For the first time in the match, Mikael Silvestre, Gabriel Heinze and Wes Brown began to tremble at the heart of United defence. The Reds fortress began to wobble and it was Brynjar Gunnarsson who brought a grin to Coppell's melancholy face. From a well-flighted corner, the Icelander leapt like a salmon and headed firmly into the United net.

So it’s back to the Madjeski for another thrilling episode in the Steve Coppell story. So far the former United wing wizard has given his old team plenty to chew over. If he believes in fairy tales, then Reading will be in the FA Cup quarter finals.

Reading have done the hard work by bringing Manchester United back to the Madjeski - but can they win the replay? Let Sportingo have your views.