Manchester United survived a scare from Galatasaray to win their opening Champions League game in Group H thanks to Michael Carrick's early goal.

The Turkish side were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty when Nemanja Vidic fouled Umut Bulut.

Carrick put United ahead after a neat move but they saw Galatasaray hit the woodwork three times as Nani saw a weak spot-kick saved by Fernando Muslera.

Darren Fletcher came off the bench for his first game after 11 months out.

And the return of their influential midfielder for the final 11 minutes, following a long lay-off with an inflammatory bowel condition that had seemingly threatened his career, was by far the best thing about United's evening other than the three points.

Although they held on to give Sir Alex Ferguson his 100th win as a manager in Europe's elite club competition, United brought up the century with a performance that was a long way below the glittering standards they have set in the past.

Despite Ferguson's pre-game proclamations of a renewed focus from his side, this was a display more reminiscent of their disastrous form in Europe last season, when they won only one Champions League game at Old Trafford, drawing twice against supposedly inferior opposition, and ended up finishing third in their group.

United's penalty pain

Manchester United have already missed three penalties this season - as many as they did in the whole of the 2011/12 season.

Javier Hernandez (against Wigan), Robin van Persie (against Southampton) and Nani (against Galatasaray) have all been unsuccessful from the spot.

United's first wobble came after barely 30 seconds, when Galatasaray had loud and convincing appeals for a penalty turned down. Vidic brought down Bulut inside the area after the Turkey striker nipped in to intercept Patrice Evra's poor pass, but referee Wolfgang Stark waved play on.

There appeared no such problems at the other end, where the recalled and refreshed Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa were quickly into their stride.

Muslera rushed off his line to deny Nani early on but he could not stop Carrick from finding the net after seven minutes, following a neat build-up.

Carrick exchanged quick passes with Van Persie and Kagawa before rounding the keeper and firing home despite being tripped by the Galatasaray keeper.

But that was as good as it got for the home side, who began giving the ball away and gifting their opponents chances.

United - who wore black armbands in honour of the two female police officers shot and killed in Greater Manchester on Tuesday - were almost punished when a misplaced Paul Scholes pass allowed Galatasaray to break and the hosts were grateful to see Nordin Amrabat's looping shot come back off the top of the bar.

More opportunities for the visitors followed, with Hamit Altintop grazing the outside of David de Gea's post with a fierce drive from a clever free-kick.

After the break, Nani should have made the points safe from the spot when Rafael was brought down inside the box but his penalty was easily pushed away by Muslera.

And Galatasaray went close again soon after when Selcuk Inan met Altintop's cross with a looping header which flicked off the post with De Gea again beaten.

United's keeper, recalled after a two game absence, proved his worth when he made a fine double stop from Burak Yilmaz and Emre Colak.

United had chances to close the game out, but Javier Hernandez was guilty of some uncharacteristically poor finishing late on.

They also had their own penalty appeal turned down when Antonio Valencia was caught by Dany Nounkeu, but in the end Carrick's goal proved just enough.

Lineup, Bookings (4) & Substitutions (6)

Manchester United

  • 01 De Gea
  • 02 Rafael
  • 03 Evra Booked
  • 06 Evans
  • 15 Vidic Booked
  • 07 Valencia
  • 16 Carrick
  • 17 Nani
  • 22 Scholes (Fletcher - 79' )
  • 26 Kagawa (Welbeck - 84' )
  • 20 Van Persie Booked (Hernandez - 81' )

Substitutes

  • 13 Lindegaard
  • 05 Ferdinand
  • 08 Anderson
  • 23 Cleverley
  • 24 Fletcher
  • 14 Hernandez
  • 19 Welbeck

Galatasaray

  • 25 Muslera
  • 13 Dany Nounkeu
  • 22 Balta
  • 26 Kaya
  • 27 Eboue
  • 04 Altintop
  • 08 Inan
  • 10 Felipe Melo Booked (Yilmaz - 79' )
  • 17 Yilmaz
  • 19 Bulut (Elmander - 15' )
  • 53 Amrabat (Colak - 63' )

Substitutes

  • 86 Ufuk Ceylan
  • 03 Cris
  • 07 Yilmaz
  • 09 Elmander
  • 11 Riera
  • 50 Baytar
  • 52 Colak
Ref: Stark
Att: 74,653

Match Stats

Shots

15 9

On target

9 3

Corners

7 7

Fouls

18 10

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +5:12 Full time

Full Time The referee ends the match.

90:00 +4:48

Foul by Burak Yilmaz on Nemanja Vidic, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by David De Gea.

90:00 +2:44

Shot on goal by Javier Hernandez from inside the box goes harmlessly over the target.

90:00 +0:42

Javier Hernandez takes a shot. Nestor Fernando Muslera makes a save. Darren Fletcher gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Emre Colak. Free kick taken by Nestor Fernando Muslera.

90:00 +0:13

Emmanuel Eboue challenges Danny Welbeck unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Luis Nani.

84:41

Shot by Javier Hernandez from deep inside the penalty area misses to the left of the goal.

83:31 Substitution

Substitution Danny Welbeck comes on in place of Shinji Kagawa.

80:01

Direct free kick taken by Emre Colak.

80:01 Substitution

Substitution (Man Utd) makes a substitution, with Javier Hernandez coming on for Robin van Persie.

80:01 Booking

Booking Caution for Robin van Persie.

79:53

Robin van Persie challenges Johan Elmander unfairly and gives away a free kick.

78:05

Direct free kick taken by Selcuk Inan.

78:05 Substitution

Substitution Aydin Yilmaz on for De Carvalho Felipe Melo.

78:05 Substitution

Substitution (Man Utd) makes a substitution, with Darren Fletcher coming on for Paul Scholes.

78:05

Nemanja Vidic is adjudged to have handled the ball.

76:29

Shinji Kagawa takes a shot. Blocked by Semih Kaya.

74:40

Inswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Selcuk Inan, Shot from deep inside the area by De Carvalho Felipe Melo goes over the bar.

70:11

Patrice Evra takes a shot. Save by Nestor Fernando Muslera. Inswinging corner taken by Robin van Persie.

64:53

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Emmanuel Eboue by Luis Nani. Direct free kick taken by Nestor Fernando Muslera.

63:44

Unfair challenge on Emre Colak by Rafael Da Silva results in a free kick. Emre Colak takes the free kick.

62:57

Luis Nani takes a shot. Save by Nestor Fernando Muslera.

62:03 Substitution

Substitution Nordin Amrabat leaves the field to be replaced by Emre Colak.

60:47

Foul by Luis Nani on Emmanuel Eboue, free kick awarded. Free kick crossed right-footed by Selcuk Inan, save by David De Gea.

60:05

Direct free kick taken by Selcuk Inan.

60:05 Booking

Booking Booking for Nemanja Vidic for unsporting behaviour.

59:54

Nemanja Vidic concedes a free kick for a foul on Burak Yilmaz.

59:04

Corner taken right-footed by Luis Nani from the left by-line, Close range header by Nemanja Vidic goes over the bar.

58:00 +5:09 Booking

Booking De Carvalho Felipe Melo receives a caution for unsporting behaviour.

52:31

Antonio Valencia takes a shot. Blocked by Semih Kaya. Corner taken left-footed by Robin van Persie from the right by-line to the near post, Luis Nani has a header from inside the six-yard box and clears the crossbar. Free kick awarded for a foul by Nemanja Vidic on Burak Yilmaz. Selcuk Inan delivers the ball from the free kick right-footed from right channel. Headed effort from deep inside the penalty area by Selcuk Inan misses to the left of the goal. Rafael Da Silva fouled by De Carvalho Felipe Melo, the ref awards a free kick. Rafael Da Silva takes the free kick.

52:20 Penalty

Placed penalty taken by Luis Nani saved by Nestor Fernando Muslera. Man Utd 1-0 Galatasaray.

51:08

Rafael Da Silva fouled by Burak Yilmaz, the ref awards a Penalty.

50:30

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Paul Scholes by Hamit Altintop. Direct free kick taken by Michael Carrick.

49:39

Luis Nani is adjudged to have handled the ball. Emmanuel Eboue takes the free kick.

46:30

Shinji Kagawa takes a shot. Blocked by Semih Kaya. Corner from the left by-line taken by Luis Nani, free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nestor Fernando Muslera by Robin van Persie. Free kick taken by Nestor Fernando Muslera. Free kick awarded for a foul by Nemanja Vidic on Burak Yilmaz. Direct free kick taken by Emmanuel Eboue. Shot from just outside the area by Hamit Altintop misses to the left of the target.

45:28

Unfair challenge on Rafael Da Silva by Nordin Amrabat results in a free kick. Jonathan Evans takes the direct free kick.

45:01

The second half has started.

45:00 +2:22 Half time

Half Time The ref blows to signal half-time.

45:00 +1:57

The referee blows for offside.

43:12

The referee blows for offside. Hakan Kadir Balta takes the free kick.

41:19

Corner taken right-footed by Hamit Altintop to the near post, clearance by Patrice Evra. Hamit Altintop decides to take a short corner. Nordin Amrabat takes a shot. Save by David De Gea.

39:35

Hamit Altintop gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Rafael Da Silva. Free kick taken by Michael Carrick.

39:06

Burak Yilmaz gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Jonathan Evans. Direct free kick taken by Rafael Da Silva.

37:51

Selcuk Inan takes the direct free kick. Hamit Altintop has an effort at goal from the edge of the area that misses to the right of the target.

37:51 Booking

Booking Patrice Evra is given a yellow card.

37:35

Patrice Evra challenges Nordin Amrabat unfairly and gives away a free kick.

36:39

Selcuk Inan takes the inswinging corner, clearance by Nemanja Vidic.

34:36

The ball is sent over by Selcuk Inan. The offside flag is raised against Nordin Amrabat. Free kick taken by David De Gea. Foul by Antonio Valencia on Burak Yilmaz, free kick awarded. Hamit Altintop takes the free kick.

33:52

Unfair challenge on Nordin Amrabat by Rafael Da Silva results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by De Carvalho Felipe Melo.

30:48

Emmanuel Eboue takes a shot. Patrice Evra gets a block in. Selcuk Inan takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line to the near post.

29:07

Robin van Persie takes a inswinging corner from the right by-line to the near post, Close range header by Luis Nani misses to the right of the goal.

26:37

Rafael Da Silva gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on De Carvalho Felipe Melo. Selcuk Inan takes the free kick. Outswinging corner taken right-footed by Selcuk Inan, Michael Carrick manages to make a clearance. Hamit Altintop takes a shot. Michael Carrick gets a block in.

23:02

Rafael Da Silva fouled by Nordin Amrabat, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Rafael Da Silva.

20:46

Selcuk Inan takes the outswinging corner, De Carvalho Felipe Melo produces a header from inside the area that goes over the bar.

17:39

The ball is crossed by Antonio Valencia, blocked by Emmanuel Eboue. Inswinging corner taken by Luis Nani from the left by-line played to the near post, Dany Nounkeu manages to make a clearance. The ball is swung over by Luis Nani, Dany Nounkeu manages to make a clearance. Paul Scholes takes a shot. Semih Kaya gets a block in. Short corner taken by Luis Nani from the left by-line.

15:53

The referee blows for offside against Burak Yilmaz. Nemanja Vidic restarts play with the free kick.

14:41 Substitution

Substitution Johan Elmander on for Umut Bulut.

13:58

Shot from just outside the penalty area by Luis Nani misses to the left of the target.

12:46

Dany Nounkeu fouled by Antonio Valencia, the ref awards a free kick. De Carvalho Felipe Melo takes the free kick.

10:59

Unfair challenge on Emmanuel Eboue by Luis Nani results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Emmanuel Eboue.

9:41

Nordin Amrabat takes a shot.

9:06

De Carvalho Felipe Melo challenges Antonio Valencia unfairly and gives away a free kick. Paul Scholes takes the direct free kick.

6:28

Assist by Shinji Kagawa.

6:28 Goal scored

Goal - Michael Carrick - Man Utd 1 - 0 Galatasa'y Michael Carrick grabs a goal from inside the area low into the middle of the goal. Man Utd 1-0 Galatasaray.

5:47

Luis Nani takes a shot. Save by Nestor Fernando Muslera.

5:03

The assistant referee flags for offside against Nordin Amrabat. Jonathan Evans restarts play with the free kick.

4:29

A cross is delivered by Antonio Valencia, blocked by Hakan Kadir Balta.

2:15

Free kick awarded for a foul by Shinji Kagawa on Semih Kaya. Semih Kaya takes the direct free kick. Nemanja Vidic challenges Umut Bulut unfairly and gives away a free kick. Free kick taken by Umut Bulut. De Carvalho Felipe Melo fouled by Robin van Persie, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Nestor Fernando Muslera.

1:14

Antonio Valencia produces a cross, save by Nestor Fernando Muslera.

0:00

The game gets underway.

Live text and data provided by The Press Association