Manchester United registered a 1-0 victory against CSKA Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium, and took a giant step forward to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
United took all three points and sit on top of Group B with nine points, and also extended their unbeaten away streak to 14 matches with the victory.
Antonio Valencia scored his first ever Champions League goal in the 86th minute to snag all three points for United. It was also his second goal in as many matches.
It was not a convincing victory by any stretch of the imagination, but when a team travels over 1,000 miles for a match, and plays on a synthetic surface they will take the points however they can get them. The playing surface, which is frowned upon by many pundits, suited United’s quick, compact passing game.
United were without four of their main contributors from this season, with Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra and Darren Fletcher all missing, so there was no question Sir Alex Ferguson was going to have to shuffle his line-up around.
Sir Alex used the versatile John O’Shea lined up along side Paul Scholes and Anderson in a five-man midfield - leaving Dimitar Berbatov upfront all alone. United look good with their passing, but they were wasteful in the final third of the pitch with their crossing and runs.
The first half could be summed like this: Gary Neville had the closest of chances when his well-placed effort grazed the crossbar and skidded on the top netting. CSKA Moscow goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev just managed to keep out a dipping drive from Scholes.
The second half started off just like the first half went, but as the half wore on, United pushed a little more forward looking for a winner.
The best move of the match came with a good one-two combination between Nani and Valencia, and the Ecuadorian’s shot left Akinfeev well-beaten, but it rattled the crossbar. Neville whipped in a teasing cross that Nani headed goal wards, but Akinfeev left the Portuguese winger frustrated with a brilliant save.
United finally broke the deadlock. Nani crossed the ball in front the left channel that Berbatov flicked on into the path of Valencia who then hammered the shot past the CSKA Moscow goalkeeper.
In the other group match, VfL Wolfsburg and Besiktas battled to a nil-nil draw.
Precautionary
Rio Ferdinand and Scholes were both taken off in the second half to give them a rest for the much-anticipated match against Liverpool this weekend.
Ferdinand, who has been criticized for his recent lack of composure and fitness, showed that he was still world-class. Young Fabio was seen being carted off following the build up to the goal, but it looks like he will not be spending another spell on the sidelines.
Matchball
Fabio was up-and-down the left flank against CSKA Moscow. The 18-year old was making great overlapping runs, but also had the wherewithal to get back and defend.
He snuffed out any danger that CSKA throw his way, and he slotted in well for the injured Evra.
Ratings
van der Sar - 6; Neville - 6, Ferdinand - 6 (Brown - 6), Vidic - 6, Fabio - 7 (Carrick - NA); Valencia - 7, Scholes - 6 (Owen - 5), O’Shea - 6, Anderson - 6, Nani - 5; Berbatov - 6
Standings
1 - MAN UNITED - 9 pts (+3)
2 - VfL Wolfsburg - 4 pts (+1)
3 - CSKA Moscow - 3 pts (-2)
4 – Besiktas - 1 pts (-2)
Schedule
Nov. 3rd - Manchester United v CSKA Moscow - Old Trafford
Nov. 3rd - Besiktas v VfL Wolfsburg - Besiktas Inönü
Nov. 25th - CSKA Moscow v VfL Wolfsburg - Luzhniki Stadium
Nov. 25th - Manchester United v Besiktas - Old Trafford
Dec. 8th - VfL Wolfsburg v Manchester United - Volkswagen
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