Source: Daily_Mail
Man United 2 Wolfsburg 1: Carrick's piece of magic rescues Fergie
Top of the Premier League and already on course for Champions League qualification. So why is it that something doesn't feel quite right about Manchester United this season?
On the face of it, United and their manager Sir Alex Ferguson have little to complain about.
Apart from that early blip at Burnley, their results have followed a perfectly satisfactory course. Wins against Arsenal and noisy neighbours Manchester City in the league have been accompanied by victory in a tricky fixture at Besiktas a fortnight ago and another, last night, against Wolfsburg of Germany.
But the Bundesliga champions gave United a mighty fright at Old Trafford and, with a little fortune, they could have won. Arsenal also outplayed United at times and so, for a much shorter period, did City in that most epic of Manchester derbies. There certainly is no reason to panic. It is very early in the season, after all.
Nevertheless, United are not playing at full tilt. Not by any means. Ferguson described this as a 'very good performance'. It really wasn't.
Wolfsburg took the lead early in the second half and had a number of other chances. Ferguson will recognise that and it may just make him a little uncomfortable.
United's capacity for recovery and the ability to stage remarkable comebacks is beyond doubt. It is not a fluke that it happens. It is to do with self-belief, mental strength and physical fitness. It is not, as some people may have it, just to do with minutes of added time.
From that point of view, they were indeed impressive against the Germans. Other teams may have started to panic and perhaps even folded when Edin Dzeko headed the Germans into the lead 11 minutes into the second half.
Not so United. They rallied, recovered and went on to win the game. It is what the very best teams manage to do.
But the fact is that United really would not expect to make hard work of opponents like this. Wolfsburg are a game and adventurous side, capable of scoring goals. But they are somewhat short of the standard of the really top European sides.
Nevertheless, they troubled Ferguson's team from the outset. They almost scored in the first five minutes and could have even found the net in the last five. That just about summed up this lively Group B match.
A poor clearance from central defender Nemanja Vidic opened the door for Wolfsburg as early as the fifth minute and midfielder Christian Gentner really should have scored instead of shooting tamely at United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
Then, four minutes later, Marcel Schafer advanced down the left and was disappointed to see his fierce, low cross evade the green shirts of his team-mates flooding into the penalty area at the Stretford End.
If United were shaken by this nervy opening, they seemed at a loss as to how to put it right.
Patrice Evra was next to make a mistake as he gifted possession to Zvjezdan Misimovic and was no doubt relieved to see the Wolfsburg playmaker shoot wastefully wide from distance when he had team-mates alongside him in support.
With Michael Owen - handed a European start in front of England coach Fabio Capello - limping off early with a groin strain that will sideline him for three weeks, it was a difficult opening for United.
That it did not see them fall behind owed much to Wolfsburg's indifferent finishing. And although United did play their way into the game as the first half wore on, it was not a surprise when Wolfsburg took the lead.
United had opportunities before half-time, Antonio Valencia screwing one good chance across goal after advancing down the right and Michael Carrick being denied by the legs of goalkeeper Diego Benaglio when substitute Dimitar Berbatov played him through neatly soon after.
However, Wolfsburg had remained dangerous throughout. Gentner headed over from a corner in the 35th minute and Ricardo Costa advanced early in the second period to volley over from an unmarked position from another set-piece.
Then came the opening goal. United had briefly threatened when Anderson's shot was beaten out by Benaglio but seconds later the red part of Old Trafford was silenced.
Carrick could not hang on to possession just outside his own penalty box on the left-hand side and when a neat interchange of passes allowed Makoto Hasebe to dink a cross to the far post, Dzeko rose above Evra to head firmly into the corner.
TV replays suggested the Bosnian may have been fractionally offside but whatever the case, United had it all to do with just over half an hour to go. To their credit, their response was positive.
With a sense of purpose and desperate need came fresh energy. They still required some luck to draw level, though, as Ryan Giggs' free-kick took an enormous deflection off the otherwise impressive Gentner in the defensive wall to wrongfoot Benaglio and sail in to his right-hand corner.
The statistics suggest this was Giggs' 150th career goal for United but it may end up sitting as an own goal against the name of the German.
Not that it mattered at the time. United were level and on a roll and this is when they are at their most dangerous. The winning goal was a cracker. Giggs was involved again as he received possession from Berbatov inside the box and rolled the ball off to Carrick.
The Geordie's excellent finish came first time from his right instep and Benaglio, once again, never had a chance. Freed from their inhibitions, United could have scored again but so, in truth, could Wolfsburg. Ferguson may not appear too worried but perhaps he should be a little concerned, at the very least.
