Manchester United 3-0 Celtic

Wayne Rooney scored again in Matchday 3 of UEFA Champions League, which brings up his tally to 8 goals in 6 games for club and country. The other 2 goals were scored by Dimitar Berbatov, who scored 4 goals in his last 2 Champions League matches.

Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand were out of the game due to hamstring and groin problems, respectively. They're replaced by John O'Shea on left back and young Johnny Evans partnering Nemanja Vidic on the center of defense. Skipper Gary Neville joins the team for his 101st appearance in European competitions. Cristiano Ronaldo who was reported to be not fit enough to play 2 games in a week started for the Red Devils. Carlos Tevez was snubbed a position in the starting 11 and had to start the match from the bench.


Manchester United controlled possession right from the start, and created many half-chances. United kept the ball and pressuring the Celtic defense and goalkeeper Boruc. About 20 minutes into the match United lost their rythm and Celtic suddenly became the ones who had the better chances. Edwin van der Sar was forced to make a few good saves.

In the 30th minute there was a scuffle in front of Celtic's goal after a corner, and Dimi flicked the ball into the net. From replays, he might have been a tiny bit offside but Celtic's defense weren't at no fault either. There were at least 5 defenders in front of the goal but none picked up Dimi.

First half ended 1-0 for the home side.

The second half started with United picking up where they left off. Possession was 65%-35% for United. 6 minutes into the half, Manchester United got a free kick about 25 yards out. Boruc can only block Ronaldo's strike and the ball fell right onto Dimi's path who tapped it in to the empty goal.

Moments later Rooney was put through by Darren Fletcher and he went around Boruc and slotted the ball in. The assistant referee flagged for offside even though replays show that he was clean. Rooney wouldn't leave the game without his name on the score sheet, though.

This one was a well build move by the whole team. After a chance for Celtic, van der Sar picked up the ball and threw it to Fletcher, who passed it out wide to Tevez. A few steps later he laid the ball easy on Rooney who calmly controlled it and made room for a shot.

United are joint leaders with Villaraeal (who beat Aalborg 6-2) top of group E.