Aalborg BK Vs. Manchester United Match Report

United eased to three points, and top spot in Group E, with a 3-0 win over Aalborg in Denmark, thanks to a first-half strike from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov’s second-half double.

Sir Alex Ferguson will have been delighted to see £30million man Berbatov finally get off the mark for the Reds with two well-struck volleys. The United boss will, however, hope that victory has not come at a cost. Injuries forced the withdrawal of Rooney and Paul Scholes, the latter suffering suspected knee ligament damage.

United’s performance showed signs of the team and some key players coming into form – Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo in particular – but, most importantly, provided a first win in Group E.

The Reds travelled without skipper Gary Neville, who picked up a knock against Bolton, and Owen Hargreaves due to a recurrence of the tendinitis problem in his knee. Regardless, the Reds boss promised to put out his strongest available side. He did so, with the only surprise being a Champions League debut for 18-year-old Brazilian right-back Rafael.

United put Aalborg under pressure right from the off and could have been 2-0 up inside the first eight minutes. Berbatov had a glorious chance to put the Reds in front on six minutes. Cristiano Ronaldo’s tackle on Aalborg goalkeeper Zaza sent the ball spinning up in the air. Berbatov met it on the volley but fired wide from eight yards. Two minutes later Rio Ferdinand saw his volley at the far post stopped by Zaza.

The match began at an intense tempo, with the Reds clearly seeking to break spirit of a determined Aalborg side, whose players and fans were fired up for this game as if it were their cup final.

Scholes’ injury on 15 minutes disrupted the flow. He didn’t appear to be in too much discomfort, but Sir Alex’s prognosis post-match didn’t sound positive. Scholes was replaced by Ryan Giggs, who joined John O’Shea in the centre of United’s midfield.

The Welshman made an almost immediate impact. On 22 minutes his simple pass led to United’s opener. Cutting through Aalborg’s defence, Giggs’ through-ball enabled Rooney to make his first-time shot look equally effortless, finding the net with aplomb.

Aalborg weren’t afraid to get forward and forced a few scares for the Reds, but when Rooney, who covered every blade of grass in his hour on the field, and Ronaldo had the ball the home side looked scared stiff. United’s attacking play, with Rooney at the reins, looked slick and fluid, but Sir Alex would have certainly liked to have seen a more commanding lead at the break.

In the second half the Reds manager was out on the touchline looking slightly concerned that United’s dominance in possession was not being converted into goals. But he didn’t have to wait long for the goal everyone at the club has been waiting for. The second goal came courtesy of a gift from the Aalborg defence. Berbatov pounced on a dreadful mistake from Augustinussen and punished the Danes ruthlessly by lashing the ball past Zaza in Aalborg’s goal. The Bulgarian’s muted celebration suggested it perhaps wasn’t the style in which this elegant front man imagined he would open his Reds account, but most importantly he is off the mark.

The goal knocked the life and fight out of Aalborg, whose energy and enthusiasm had been the sole components of any previous forays into United’s half.

Carlos Tevez’s introduction on the hour mark, replacing Rooney after the Englishman took a knock to his ankle, was exactly what Bruce Rioch’s men didn’t want. The Argentinian wasn’t settling for a 2-0 scoreline. He did have the ball in the net, but was penalised for unintentionally using his arm. Tevez perhaps should have been more selfish on 72 minutes when a neat move saw him break into the Aalborg penalty area. Instead of shooting, however, he squared the ball to Ronaldo, whose shot was blocked. Then five minutes later he sent a 25-yard shot whizzing just past the bar.

A third goal eventually arrived on 79 minutes. Ronaldo skipped past his marker to make it to the byline on the right of the Aalborg and his cross was met with an acrobatic volley from Berbatov to make it 3-0.

Team Line-ups

Aalborg BK: Zaza; Pedersen, Beauchamp (Caca 38), Olfers, Bogelund; Risgard, Johansson, Augustinussen, Enevoldsen; Curth, Saganowski.
Subs not used: Stenild, Due, Braemer, Sorensen, Kristensen, Schwartz.
Booked: Johansson, Zaza

Manchester United: Van der Sar; Rafael (Brown 66), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Scholes (Giggs 16), O'Shea, Nani; Rooney (Tevez 59), Berbatov.
Subs not used: Amos, Anderson, Park, Evans.

Attendance: 10,346