United 2 Otelul Galati 0

United's Champions League victory over Romania's Otelul Galati was workmanlike rather than wonderful. But a win's a win and this one was enough to leave Sir Alex's men in a commanding position at the top of Group C, with two games to play.

Antonio Valencia's eighth-minute tap-in was all that separated the sides on the scoreboard until Wayne Rooney's late long-range effort deflected off Cristian Sarghi and past the Galati goalkeeper. But it wasn't as if United found the going particularly tough against Galati; the Reds actually looked comfortable, if not wholly convincing, for long periods.

It was a similar story a fortnight ago in Bucharest when two second-half spot-kicks, both won and converted by Rooney, handed United the three points. Rooney didn't quite get his name on the scoresheet again in this match (UEFA have declared the Reds' second an own goal), but he still had a big impact, albeit from a much different area of the pitch.

Indeed, Sir Alex took the unusual step of deploying Wayne in a deep-lying midfield role. And although it was unfamiliar teriitory, the Reds' no.10 didn't disappoint. Within 40 seconds he had chased Liviu Antal down towards the corner flag and harried the Romanian into coughing up possession.

Rooney then went on to demonstrate, in understated fashion, a knack for keeping the ball moving with simple first-time passes, interspersing