Cristiano Ronaldo literally rose to the occasion when the Portuguese winger nodded home to propel Manchester United to a 1-0 win over his former club Sporting Lisbon in their Champions League opener.
Man U manager Alex Ferguson also fielded Wayne Rooney, who returned from a broken foot and was more or less subdued in the match. For them, custodian Edwin van der Sar gave a stunning display under the bar, coming up with two spectacular saves.
Elated after the win, Ferguson said
Winning your first game away from home sets the tone for us. At half-time we looked to improve our game with more penetration - I think we did.
Man U looked cagey in the first half and the idea was not to concede a goal in the first session. Their new recruit Carlos Tevez warmed the bench as Ferguson went for the Rooney-Ronaldo combination.
Nani, another former Lisbon player, made the first inroad but his 32nd minute shot was deflected out by a rival defender.
Ronaldo was in his elements in the second half and Ryan Giggs almost scored from his pass after the lemon break.
The match was into 61st minute when Ronaldo headed in Wes Brown’s cross to score the winner.
