MANCHESTER UNITED 2, WOLFSBURG 1

MANCHESTER UNITED showed their remarkable powers of recovery again to come from behind against impressive Wolfsburg at Old Trafford.

Edin Dzeko, a player Sir Alex Ferguson admitted in the pre-match build-up he had kept tabs on, silenced the home crowd with a headed opener after 56 minutes.

It took only three minutes for United to draw level, courtesy of Ryan Giggs's 150th goal for the club, and the Welshman teed up Michael Carrick for the winner.

Last year's runners-up started sluggishly with a rusty-looking Nemanja Vidic gifting the ball to Grafite but Christian Gentner's shot was food and drink for Tomasz Kuszczak, enjoying his second start of the season. A sloppy error by Patrice Evra also went unpunished and it took Dimitar Berbatov's introduction to spark the hosts into life.

Michael Owen went off with a hamstring problem, which will not have endeared himself to the watching Fabio Capello, but Berbatov brought a dazzling array of Cantona-esque flicks to the game, only to see Antonio Valencia and Carrick waste the opportunities he created.

Ricardo Costa headed off target from a corner in the second period as Wolfsburg continued to impress. So it was no great surprise when a good advantage played by referee Viktor Kassai after a clear foul by Carrick allowed Makoto Hasebe to cross to the back post, where Dzeko towered over Evra to bullet home a superb header.

The Red Devils were always going to respond but it came swiftly when Anderson was brought down and Giggs's free-kick found the net, albeit with the aid of a massive deflection off Gentner that wrongfooted Diego Benaglio.

Wayne Rooney, who had endured a largely frustrating night, was picked out in too much space by Giggs from a corner but arrowed his curling drive fractionally too high as the home fans found their voice.

Rooney and Giggs were both involved in the winner as the England striker fed Berbatov, whose pass was too strong for Giggs to finish. Instead, the remarkable Reds veteran readjusted to nudge the ball back into the path of Carrick who returned it, first time, into the net with precision and power.

"Their goal was a surprise, but that's football and I felt it would be just a matter of time before we scored," explained Sir Alex Ferguson afterwards.

"Ryan's goal was fortuitous with the deflection, but the performance deserved it.

"Ryan is unbelievable. All of the superlatives and praise he has had over the years, there is nothing to add to it. The incredible thing is that he retains this youthfulness in his performances.

"It's as if he's just starting his career for the club. He's just continuing like a young man and enjoying his football. It's marvellous to see."

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