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Michael Carrick celebrates - Source: Reuters -
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Manchester United fought back from a goal down to beat a feisty
VfL Wolfsburg side 2-1 and move top of Champions League Group B on
Thursday.
Midfielder Michael Carrick struck the winner 12 minutes from time
after Ryan Giggs's deflected free kick had cancelled out a fine
header from Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko which handed the German
champions a shock lead soon after halftime.
"I thought it was a marvellous performance from us tonight," United
manager Alex Ferguson told a news conference.
"They started very well. The first 15 minutes they gave us some
problems and it took us some time to get a rhythm going.
"The front two are a handful, they're difficult to play against,
particularly Dzeko. He was very good for them. Dealing with that
sole threat isn't easy and we're quite happy to get through it with
a victory."
United, seeking to reach the final for the third season in a row,
started slowly and striker Michael Owen, struggling with a groin
injury, had to be replaced by Dimitar Berbatov after just 20
minutes.
United's threat was limited in the opening period and the closest
they came to breaking the deadlock was a Carrick shot that was
blocked by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.
Shock lead
Nine minutes after the restart, Dzeko rose above Patrice Evra to
nod Makato Hasebe's cross past Tomasz Kuszczak and give Wolfsburg a
shock lead in their first Champions League campaign.
But Giggs's free kick flew in off the wall to pull United level and
the veteran midfielder then laid the ball off for Carrick to curl
it into the top corner and secure United's eighth consecutive
victory in all competitions.
"Ryan shows this incredible youthfulness it's as if he's just
starting his career and I don't know how many plaudits you can give
him more than he has had," Ferguson said.
"You can praise him to the high heavens because he doesn't get
affected by it. He's continuing like a young man and it's wonderful
to see."
Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh was happy with his team's
performance.
"We started well and didn't fall into the trap of standing off and
sitting back. It was a very good move to create the first goal," he
said.
"Overall I think we deserved a draw and we were unlucky to
lose."
