United's quest to erase the agonies of Rome opened with an efficient away win in Istanbul, thanks to a second-half header from Paul Scholes.
The veteran Reds midfielder will sit out the Manchester derby after Saturday's undeserved red card at Spurs but he wasn't going to miss the opportunity presented to him when Nani's initial shot was saved by Besiktas goalkeeper Hakan Arikan in the 77th minute.
The 1-0 victory was no more than United deserved after dominating possession and carrying the greater attacking threat through the likes of Nani and Champions League debutant Antonio Valencia. The two wingers came into the starting line-up as Sir Alex opted to put Dimitar Berbatov on the bench and rest Ryan Giggs altogether; the other changes to the side that won in style at Spurs brought Gary Neville in for John O'Shea at right-back and Michael Carrick replacing Darren Fletcher in midfield.
Besiktas' first real moment of alarm came when Valencia dived in an effort to flick on Nani’s left-wing corner, only for a defender to do it for him and send the ball arcing towards the top corner. Arikan, starting in preference to Turkish legend Rustu Recber, was alert enough to parry it; moments earlier he saved Carrick's first shot on target.
Arikan was less than convincing on crosses, needing two attempts to gather the ball after flapping at Valencia’s centre. The Ecuadorian was tasked with tucking in from the right whenever United attacked on the opposite flank and he was unlucky not to conncet cleanly when Rooney pinged one in from the left.
Besiktas’s best spell of the first half was triggered when Serdar Ozkan’s shot from distance was deflected just over the bar by Jonny Evans, with Ben Foster seemingly beaten had the ball been an inch or two lower. A flurry of three corners followed but United’s rearguard, marshalled by returning club skipper Neville, comfortably weathered the brief storm from the home side.
The Reds defenders were generally at liberty to push up, especially Patrice Evra whose threat around the box just before the break was crudely snuffed out by Rodrigo Tabata’s foul. The Brazilian midfielder escaped a yellow card and Nani missed a further opportunity to punish him when he fired the free-kick over from the left-hand edge of the area, evidently to Sir Alex’s frustration. Perhaps the boss had just learned of Ronaldo’s successful conversion in Zurich for Real Madrid.
The second half opened with attacks at both ends; United’s raid resulted in Carrick shooting tamely towards goal after Nani’s cross was cleared off the line by Matteo Ferrari, then Ozkan forced a fruitless corner on the counter-attack – one of the livewire winger’s final acts before he was surprisingly substituted. Another of Besiktas’s best players, Tabata, was also withdrawn later, having forced a rare save from Foster.
Sir Alex made his first two substitutions in one hit just after the hour, sending on Berbatov and Michael Owen as a strike pair for his two wingers to aim for. The players to make way were Rooney, after a decent shift as the lone striker, and Carrick, one of three central midfielders. Later Ji-sung
The Reds defenders were generally at liberty to push up, especially Patrice Evra whose threat around the box just before the break was crudely snuffed out by Rodrigo Tabata’s foul. The Brazilian midfielder escaped a yellow card and Nani missed a further opportunity to punish him when he fired the free-kick over from the left-hand edge of the area, evidently to Sir Alex’s frustration. Perhaps the boss had just learned of Ronaldo’s successful conversion in Zurich for Real Madrid.
The second half opened with attacks at both ends; United’s raid resulted in Carrick shooting tamely towards goal after Nani’s cross was cleared off the line by Matteo Ferrari, then Ozkan forced a fruitless corner on the counter-attack – one of the livewire winger’s final acts before he was surprisingly substituted. Another of Besiktas’s best players, Tabata, was also withdrawn later, having forced a rare save from Foster.
Sir Alex made his first two substitutions in one hit just after the hour, sending on Berbatov and Michael Owen as a strike pair for his two wingers to aim for. The players to make way were Rooney, after a decent shift as the lone striker, and Carrick, one of three central midfielders. Later Ji-sung
Park put a few minutes on his clock as a late replacement for Valencia.
The Reds’ rapid right winger had earned his rest, having fired several menacing balls into the box in the second half, including a shot which nearly sneaked inside the far post and a cross that almost found Owen but struck the legs of Arikan while the linesman flagged.
A less dynamic piece of distribution brought United’s breakthrough after 77 minutes when Valencia passed into the feet of Nani and the Portuguese shifted his weight to sting the palms of Arikan. It was a decent save by the Turkish keeper but only until Scholes followed up to head home on the rebound and finally silence the booming Besiktas crowd.
It was the perfect way for Scholes to put Saturday’s sending off behind him, and for United to begin this Champions League campaign of course – although the Reds had a bit of work to do to see it out, not least when Evra brilliantly blocked a shot from Filip Holosko. However the final chance fell to Owen and although the substitute poked his shot into the side netting, and Vidic then picked up a cheap yellow card for dissent, it was still job well done for the well-travelled Reds.
The Reds’ rapid right winger had earned his rest, having fired several menacing balls into the box in the second half, including a shot which nearly sneaked inside the far post and a cross that almost found Owen but struck the legs of Arikan while the linesman flagged.
A less dynamic piece of distribution brought United’s breakthrough after 77 minutes when Valencia passed into the feet of Nani and the Portuguese shifted his weight to sting the palms of Arikan. It was a decent save by the Turkish keeper but only until Scholes followed up to head home on the rebound and finally silence the booming Besiktas crowd.
It was the perfect way for Scholes to put Saturday’s sending off behind him, and for United to begin this Champions League campaign of course – although the Reds had a bit of work to do to see it out, not least when Evra brilliantly blocked a shot from Filip Holosko. However the final chance fell to Owen and although the substitute poked his shot into the side netting, and Vidic then picked up a cheap yellow card for dissent, it was still job well done for the well-travelled Reds.
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