AaB Aalborg vs Manchester United G2 ECL Season 2008/09
Dimitar Berbatov got off the mark with a double strike as Manchester United cruised to
Champions League victory against Aalborg in Denmark.
Wayne Rooney slid home a pass from Ryan Giggs - on for Paul Scholes after he was
stretchered off with a knee injury - to open the scoring after 22 minutes.
Berbatov opened his goal account when he took advantage of a defensive mix-up to score 10
minutes after half-time.
He then volleyed in Cristiano Ronaldo's cross for his second after 79 minutes.
United outclassed Bruce Rioch's minnows, but injuries to Scholes and Rooney cast a shadow
over the win, which leaves them with four points from their first two group games.
Scholes was left on crutches, while Rooney limped off in some discomfort just before the hour
mark.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson kept faith with Berbatov, despite a lacklustre start to his Old
Trafford career, but he made an undistinguished start with a dreadful miss after five minutes.
Aalborg keeper Karim Zaza's clearance ricocheted off Ronaldo straight to Berbatov, but he shot
wide of an open goal.
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AaB Aalborg vs Manchester United G2 ECL Season 2008/09
Zaza then had to block a drive from Rio Ferdinand after Nemanja Vidic flicked on Nani's corner.
United suffered a blow after 16 minutes when Scholes was stretchered off with a knee injury
following a challenge by Thomas Augustinussen.
Giggs came on and demonstrated his enduring quality six minutes later with a perfect through
ball into Rooney's path and he slipped home a simple finish.
Rafael had looked promising at right-back, and he almost showed his goal-scoring talent with a
fine left-foot shot that was turned over by Zaza.
United needed to kill the game off, and they did so when Berbatov was gifted his first goal
following his £30m move from Spurs in the 55th minute.
Augustinussen's dreadful control presented Berbatov with possession on the edge of the area,
and he wasted no time in hammering an emphatic finish past Zaza.
There was another concern for United after 58 minutes when Rooney pulled up injured and
limped off to be replaced by Carlos Tevez.
Tevez had the ball in the net almost immediately, but referee Olegario Benquerenca ruled out
the effort for handball.
United were now carving out a succession of chances, with Ronaldo failing to take advantage of
good work by Tevez and the Argentine shooting wide after cutting in from the left.
Berbatov got his second with 11 minutes left, showing great technique to hook home Ronaldo's
right-wing cross.
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AaB Aalborg vs Manchester United G2 ECL Season 2008/09
The Bulgarian almost repaid the compliment with six minutes left when he set Ronaldo racing
clear with a glorious pass, but he was unable to provide the final flourish to a comfortable win.
A job well done by United - but at what cost in terms of injuries remained to be seen as the
players prepared to fly back to Manchester.
AaB: Zaza, Bogelund, Olfers, Beauchamp (Caca 38), Pedersen, Augustinussen, Risgaard,
Curth, Johansson, Enevoldsen, Saganowski.
Subs Not Used: Stenild, Due, Braemer, Sorensen, Kristensen, Ronnie Schwartz Nielsen.
Booked: Johansson, Zaza.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (Brown 66), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Scholes
(Giggs 16), O'Shea, Nani, Berbatov, Rooney (Tevez 59).
Subs Not Used: Amos, Anderson, Park, Evans.
Booked: Rafael Da Silva.
Goals: Rooney 22, Berbatov 55, 79.
Att: 10,346
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AaB Aalborg vs Manchester United G2 ECL Season 2008/09
Ref: Olegario Benquerenca (Portugal).
Man of the match: Manchester United's Wayne Rooney 8.22 (on 90 minutes).
Source: BBC Sports
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