United are forced into action

Manchester Utd 2 Wolfsburg 1:FOLLOWERS OF clubs of Manchester United's accomplishment often have reason to complain about the tedium of the Champions League group phase. Here, however, they were made to recall how agonising it can be to watch a genuine contest.

Their side trailed in the second half and did not take the lead until the 78th minute when Michael Carrick bent a shot into the top corner at the end of a move involving Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Ryan Giggs. The plan to count on a natural poacher had been confounded long before that stage.

Michael Owen had wished to show the watching Fabio Capello that he still has the vitality to hold a place in the England squad. But, after being given his first start for United in this competition, the attacker, through no fault of his own, made entirely the wrong impression and had to be replaced by Berbatov after 20 minutes.

Owen had a recurrence of his groin strain and presumably will not be facing Ukraine or Belarus in the World Cup qualifiers.

It will have done nothing for the 29-year-old’s morale that United brightened for a spell after Berbatov had replaced him.

This fixture looked like an occasion for attackers but that did not suggest Wolfsburg had resigned themselves to a drubbing. While it is true the German champions have been conceding an average of two goals a game in the Bundesliga this season, there is a consistent enterprise to their approach.

Openings were squandered by both clubs before the interval and Tomasz Kuszczak, preferred to Ben Foster as the United goalkeeper on this occasion, might have been apprehensive now and again. When Nemanja Vidic failed to clear in the fourth minute, for instance, Kuszczak had to make a save after the Brazilian Grafite had set up Christian Gentner.

Eleven minutes from the interval, the same player failed again, missing the target entirely with a header from a corner.

It is sad that such signs of life from foreign opponents take us almost by surprise. Liverpool’s defeat away to Fiorentina on Tuesday led to outbursts of consternation and indignation, but those reactions told us more about the problems of the Champions League than it did about the long-term prospects of Rafael Benitez’s team.

It is disturbing that a win for an Italian club at home should cause amazement.

What hope is there for a tournament when one of the world’s great footballing nations is no longer expected to hold its own in the competition?

It is with some relief that signs of a more widespread competitiveness have been noticed.

Some major countries, including Italy, ought to be exasperated that they have not made more of an impact lately. Germany, too, are prime underachievers.

The Bundesliga might offer cheap tickets but the income from sponsorship and TV can still be substantial. Wolfsburg have the support of Volkswagen. The visitors did have a creditable desire to compete, but there were occasions when they were out of their depth.

It was usually Berbatov who had them flailing. A deft backheel in the 25th minute sent Antonio Valencia clear but the midfielder put his finish wide. With half an hour gone, the Bulgarian set up Carrick, only for goalkeeper Diego Benaglio to come off his line quickly and block the shot.

United were taking their time about demoralising Wolfsburg. Perhaps Owen could feel, after all, that he was, ever so slightly, being missed.

The visitors did not necessarily look apprehensive and took to the attack with purpose when possible.

United continued to be ill-at-ease when dealing with corners, and Wolfsburg defender Ricardo Costa ought to have done much better than fire wide from one after 49 minutes.

The German club were outdoing many others who come to Old Trafford with some misconceived scheme to contain United.

The bold strategy took on even greater merit with an opener in the 55th minute.

Makoto Hasebe crossed from the left, after referee Viktor Kassai had played an advantage, and Edin Dzeko, who appeared to be fractionally off-side, headed in. The goal was all the more shocking for United since Anderson had seen an attempt well-saved a little earlier.

It took luck to ensure the team’s reaction to the loss of a goal was rewarded. Anderson was brought down by Josue in the 59th minute, but Giggs’ set-piece eluded Benaglio because of a substantial deflection off Gentner.

Assuming it is attributed to the Welshman, this was his 150th goal for the club. Even so, this game continued to be more absorbing than Giggs or any United fan would have wished.

MAN UTD: Kuszczak, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Valencia (Fletcher 82), Carrick, Anderson, Giggs, Owen (Berbatov 20), Rooney. Subs not used: Foster, Brown, Nani, Scholes, Fabio Da Silva. Booked: Vidic.

WOLFSBURG: Benaglio, Riether, Madlung, Ricardo Costa, Schafer, Josue, Hasebe (Ziani 73), Misimovic, Gentner, Dzeko, Grafite (Martins 82). Subs not used: Lenz, Santana, Pekarik, Dejagah, Barzagli. Booked: Ricardo Costa. Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary).