Manchester United came a goal behind and shrugged off the early loss of Michael Owen to injury to beat German champions Wolfsburg 2-1 for their second victory in Champions League Group B.
Owen, looking to impress watching England manager Fabio Capello, survived for just 20 minutes at Old Trafford before going off with a groin strain. His replacement Dimitar Berbatov proved highly effectively but the enterprising visitors went ahead through a Edin Dzeko header in the 56th minute. Ryan Giggs equalized just three minutes later with his 150th goal for the Red Devils, his deflected shot finding its way home. The evergreen Giggs then set up Michael Carrick for the 76th minute winner as he curled home his shot from the edge of the penalty area. United manager Alex Ferguson paid his own compliment to the Welsh wizard as he reflected on a hard-fought home victory. “He’s unbelievable, all the infinitives, all the praise over the years, I don’t know if you can add to it. He’s a marvellous player.” Ferguson also revealed that Owen would be out for between two to three weeks with his latest injury. The three points leave United top of the group with two wins from two games after their eighth victory in a row in all competitions.
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In the other Group B action on Wednesday, CSKA Moscow bounced back from their 2-1 defeat to Wolfsburg in the first round of matches to see off Turkish champions Besiktas 2-1. Midfielders Alan Dzagoev and Milos Krasic scored for the hosts either side of half time, with Besiktas, beaten in their first two games, pulling a goal back thorugh Ismail Koybasi. In Group A, the heavyweight clash between Bayern Munich and Juventus ended in a goalless draw. Munich had several chances in their home Allianz Arena, but failed to convert them although they do top the group with four points. French champions Bordeaux are in second place on three points after a 1-0 home win over Israeli counterparts Maccabi Haifa. Having drawn with Juventus in their group opener, Laurent Blanc’s men had wait until the 83rd minute for a vital breakthrough as Michael Ciani headed home from Gregory Sertic’s corner. Juventus are third in the group after two draws, with Maccabi bottom after drawing blank.
