Manchester United stayed on course for qualification to the Champions League knock-out phases with a comfortable victory over Romanian minnows Otelul Galati at Old Trafford.
Antonio Valencia scored after just eight minutes and Wayne Rooney's deflected effort three minutes from time sealed the win. The Reds now top Group C after Benfica drew with Basle.
The only negative was what looked to be a thigh injury sustained by Michael Owen after 10 minutes.
United - who started with Owen and Dimitar Berbatov up front - began brightly and were soon ahead.
Phil Jones' delivery to the near post saw Owen steal in. He failed to connect properly but the ball glanced to a grateful Valencia who finished from close range.
There have been some terrific European nights at Old Trafford but this was soporific with the early goal dulling an evening that had hardly caught the imagination.
Instead of those with points to prove grabbing their moment and headlining this match it was two players who’ve been more consistent in lighting up this season.
The aforementioned £16m Jones added to a growing reputation that suggests a future stalwart in the making.
His burgeoning runs and no-nonsense defending captured the eye and those penetrating darts down the wing forced the Old Trafford crowd out of their understandable slumber.
The other United player at least giving the fans some value for money was Rooney.
The striker was an extra man insurance in the engine room at Everton last Saturday as United sought to ensure they recovered from the City pasting.
But here he was a central figure in a four-man traditional midfield.
Invention
As a playmaker he was every inch the figure the Reds need to spark some invention in a campaign that has lost some of its early lustre.
He attempted some Hollywood balls that didn’t quite come off. But by and large his short jabs and contrasting sweeping passes out to the wing were a watchable contribution.
Unfortunately not much else managed to drag this encounter up to anything resembling a spectacle.
The Romanian title winners have yet to gain their first Champions League point and there were a couple of moments that suggested they might just scare the pants off the Reds and snatch that honour at Old Trafford of all places.
United seemed intent on helping Galati to that prized point with some sloppy play at times as they switched off no doubt lulled by a silent stadium.
Nani’s 42nd minute loose pass came the closest to handing the visitors the golden ticket.
Ionut Neagu was the beneficiary and his shot took a deflection off Rio Ferdinand’s boot and forced an instinctive brilliant save from David de Gea.
There was a TV shot of Paul Scholes on the press box monitors midway through an equally tedious second half and the ex-playmaker who lit up so many heady European nights looked totally fed up.
It was hardly surprising but at least he didn’t have to pay for his ticket!
United’s best chance to extend their lead was presented to Berbatov in the 75th minute when Rapa’s back pass fell woefully short.
The Bulgarian had looked as uninterested as Scholes had done for most of the evening. His body language suggested he wasn’t happy with some of his colleagues movement or choice of passes.
Rapa’s in fact was the best chance anyone had provided him with but Berbatov’s smashed shot into the side-netting brought more groans his way.
Rooney’s contribution as a playmaker may have caught the eye but you still cannot subdue him as a goalscorer.
In the 87th minute he became joint-British top scorer in the Champions League on 27 goals with Ryan Giggs. But he looked almost apologetic as his shot was diverted by Sarghi that wrong-footed keeper Grahovac.
What is your verdict on the game? Have your say.
Manchester United 2 Otelul Galati 0 - Stuart Mathieson's verdict
November 02, 2011
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Total Garbage !.Sorry to say we Should break the Bank for YAYA or SILVA....
United performance has gone bad to WORST... They did not get easy goal against school boy team ? Nani, rio, Anderson and evans are all out of form..United must improve their performances otherwise it is difficult ?
another poor poor display from united again.watching united these days is like watching a comedy club,but trust me im not laughing at all. apart from jones,rooney,de gea was there many out there who you would call united quality?
our midfield is so rubbish we cant even dominate against some minnows from romania.how bad was the likes of anderson,valencia,berbatov and evans? as for anderson,i just cant believe how many on here think he's one for the future! the guy cant make a simple 2 yard pass! bloody hopeless. but i'm sure those idiots will come on here saying the midfields fine.
unless we find the money to replace the likes of park,valencia,evans,fletcher,carrick,andeson and any other donkey i have failed to mention then city WILL take over from us as the top team in manchester very soon
Ferguson should start counting the money for the Winter Transfer.
Awful game, we dominated possession and gave them few chances but created little ourselves.
Berbatov and Anderson was shocking and personally im not happy with Rooney in central midfield despite the fact he was magnificent there he is our best striker and he should be operating off the front man to allow him to truly be a goal threat and I think its evident of the state of our central mid that we have to ask our best striker to play there.
Although Fergie chose Rooney over Carrick or Fletcher who I believe were both available so clearly he isn't too confident in them pair and Anderson has gone into a real bad patch after his relatively impressive start to the season.
Buy in January a defensive mid and an attacking mid or throw Morrison and Pogba in early its becoming a joke now.
Rooney immense (a midfielder that shoots), Jones very close behind. Great credit to Otelul, they ran and ran and pressured United all over the field.
Have the Greater Manchester Police been informed that the kit has been stolen and imposters have appeared in the colours of United? Very unconvincing and sloppy performance by the team.
Fair dues to Otelul Galati, they gave a good account of themselves and deserved something from the game.
Yeah, its three points and on the verge of qualifying,but far from Champions League winning performance and nowhere near the showing of the leading teams in the other groups.
My what a struggle!. Nani, Anderson and Berbatov were all dreadful in my opinion. Rooney, Jones, Ferdinand and De Gea the only players to do themselves full justice. Problem is that performances like this seem to be increasingly familar.
some of the players that are getting games for us now wouldnt have got a look in years gone by.some people seem to be just happy to scrap a win,but i ask them why? arent we united? arent we along with madrid and barca the top three teams in the world? if thats so then shouldnt our aim be high as those two? at this moment in time we are miles away from those two,and fergie carries on being stubborn i cant see us closing the gap in the near future.
Nani, Anderson, Berbatov, Hernandez: under performing
Rooney, Valencia, Fabio, Rio, Evans: performing
Jones, De Gae: Playing the United way.
It's obvious Barca would have beaten us well in the shape we are now. But it's a win. We are almost through and we are slowly getting there.
But we need Cleverley, Nani (did he play today???) and Rooney to step up.
What a borefest! 3 points is 3 points so I take it but wow do we have to improve. Everybody clamoring for Berbatov, I hope you enjoyed him walking around the pitch for 90 minutes or getting easily bounced off the ball. I think it is a cop out to put Rooney in midfield if we don't have effective midfielders then go out a buy some.
First thoughts.
1. That was not very good.We haven't yet recovered our form.
2. Where would we have been without Rooney--- he played everywhere but in goal!
3.De Gea is a good keeper and more importantly,a lucky keeper. He is also a good footballer,in fact it may he worth trying him in midfield.
4.Our main problem at the moment is that the wingers have completely lost it. Nani and Valencia were ineffective tonight and Nani,at times,was a liability.
5.Jones did well--may be worth trying him on the wing? Fabio was OK at times and it may be worth giving Pat a much needed rest.
6. Anderson blows hot and cold,in other words-lukewarm.
7. Berba is like the wife. You don't know where you are up to with him half the time and gets moody when he has to exert himself. A smile to show he enjoys what he does,would help.
8.The way we are playing suggests a complete lack of confidence. I suppose if we can ride it out with scrappy wins until we come right,we will have to put up with it.
9.Again,we had many early leavers. Why? If I would have paid a small fortune for a ticket,I would have milked it to the end.
10. Chico suffered tonight because the wingers didn't preform and Rooney wasn't playing along side him.
11. Well done City. A tricky place to go as we all know.
Ok, we can now read the bitters comment on their game.
Thank you MCEN for neglecting ours.
Very sloppy game, slow and ponderous. The Romanians played with alot of energy and spirit while our passing in midfield was square and back. Cleverley is the only midfielder we have who can move the ball quickly, accurately and FORWARD. Anderson and Nani were a disgrace with their careless and casual passing. Jones, Wazza and DeGea were all superb at least. Just shows that our midfield is in adequate when we have to play Wazza in there when he should be upfront with El Chico. Fergie this has gone on for far too long... get a WC central midfielder in Jan NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please off load Anderson and berbatov. They are never going to cut it at united.. unless we do some serious transfer window activity we are going to end up pot less. And we will get several more thrashings before the season is over
when Ferguson says that Rooney´s midfield job was only temporary, given the missing midfielders, I assume he means missing from his squad altogether, as we have none worthy of the name, bar Cleverley. It could also mean that temporary means "rest of the season" at least. And when will he sell Evans, the liability of the century? Let Jones play centrally and keep the twins left and right.
Some things to learn from this display:
United cannot afford toeave berbatov's sublime skills languishing on the bench. Although he and Chicarito weren't often on the same page that was due to either not playing together enough but I think more that Chicarito is not a goos starter 11 player (I know he came off the bench but for purposes he was the same as a starter today). Some of Berbatovs passing was beautiful to watch - how soccer should be played.
Chicarito is not really a starter - he seems to be more effective coming off the bench when United are pressing (more balls into the 6 yard box).
Much as I like Anderson's attcking the defence too many of his fianl balls don'r reach a United player. I would loan him to Sunderland or Wigan to get some steady games under his belt, if not he isn't going to make it unfortunately.
Nani on the left is a shadow of nani on the right and unfortunately after playing on the left he seems to lose confidence when he gats back on the right.
Although I am one who wanted to try Rooney in midfield, and he had a fair game, he is missed further up front. He is predominently a left to right player and missed the open left side player many times. With the present players tho' it is worth carrying on with his selection in midfield.
Last but not least has anyone noticed that United really need some midfielders?
There are no easy games in the CL anymore. Basle got a good draw at Benfica and Chelski and the Arse nal didn't win their games either.
The Romanians were not the whipping boys that we were led to beleive they were and despite our possession I thought they played very well whenever they had the ball. This also has not been the easiest group.
Mind you are sloppy passing and downbeat tempo didn't help.
Nani, Anderson and Berba were quite simply woeful but I know that they are better players than that.
Nani has to be the most frustrating player I have ever seen in a United shirt. He has so much ability and skill and pace but unfortunately no consistency.
Rooney was brilliant in midfield and Phil Jones was superb.
Lets hope we play better than that against Brucie's team on Saturday.
Job done but without conviction. Rooney looks good back there but maybe he should be a few yards further forward at times. Berbatox enjoyed his usual evening snooze and I don't know what dreamland Anderson is in. Fabio was a bundle of dyamite at first but I think he tired pretty quickly. Certainly not a performance of champions.
Wayne in midfield 2 games in a row says it all about our midfield hopefully action will be taken either promote the kids or buy just listened to mutv typical nonsense from macari/ fortune our midfielders are good enough bla bla then one caller came on and said we needed to buy Shane long and at that I switched off (and I'm Irish) I think disappointing sums it up but to be top of group is great on berbatov I thought there were moments of real class but he looks done at utd for me confidence gone its a real shame IMO, we have alienatedvhim and he hasnt had a fair shout,looks like macheda will need to step up .... Back to that bastion of television mutvthey were actually talking about getting to the final and playing barca and the manager speaks of " giant strides" being made in catching Barca I just don't see it from this team at present I don't see it winning the league if things don't change never mind win cl. Hopeful rather then confident just now on all fronts
Shocking performane. Get rid of Evans, Carrick, Anderson, Berbatov, Owen and park Rio's rump on the bench. If we are gonna keep playing boring football I'd rather watch our young players have a chance in the first team.
poor poor display from the team again.watching united these days is like watching a comedy show but trust me i'm not laughing. our play was so bad its embarrasing,watching our so called THE BEST MIDFIELD IN THE WORLD unable to make simple two yards passes.as for the people here who keep saying anderson is one for the future?are you sure? what qualities does he exactly have?if it wasnt for that ridiculas amount of money we paid for him he would have been history by now for sure.
some idiots here keep telling us we dont need midfield players,well can those idiots explain if that was the case why is saf experimenting with rooney in midfield?. apart from jones,smalling,de gea,rooney,nani,vidic,cleverly and maybe rafael everyone else is very average.
in recent weeks i have been reading posts about how we should be playing berbatov in midfield! well i ask those who say that,do actually see berbatov play? to be a midfielder you need two important things 1: must have a good engine,and be mobile. 2: you need to work very hard and tackle, does berbatove any of those qualities? no.
we need buy some proper midfielders for the team or risk being over taken by city as the top team in manchester very soon.
I wish we had a team like Citys, they play some lovely football and can't stop scoring, they're embarrasing us at the moment. Its a good job i live in London and theres no City fans down here to wind me up.
as owen,whatever we pay him its too much,get rid along with evans,anderson,valencia the other donkeys that played tonight.
ONly Rooney, De gea and Jones can justify their pay packet the rest should hand it back.
Valencia is a total loss no pace and how many time could he have either put it in first time or used his left foot, sorry he only uses it to stand on even a small team know how to play him.
Hernandez is just a poacher who has no close control or dribbling ability which really shown it tonight 3 or 4 time he had the run on the defenders but could not even keep the ball. What he lacks and then becomes a liability is when nothing comes in from the wings as is happening all to frequently at the moment.
Nani is showing again that he is useless on the left.
Also by playing Rooney shows that even Fergy now knows how poor our midfield is. I would have gone and got Parker from West Ham as a short fill in until better came along. He is that player we should have got from Charlton to replace Roy Keane but Chelsea knew this and bought him to keep the other top teams from having him and let him warm their bench.
Things at present are not looking good and we are in danger of becoming a very ordinary team, which will in the end mean us losing our only decent player Rooney as he was promised strengthening of the team but it is weak at present.