This victory will not be remembered at Manchester United for any other reason than it coming on the night that Wayne Rooney became the highest‑scoring Englishman in the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson has loftier designs on Europe but all talk of tests against Barcelona must wait. United are still to convince against the supporting cast.
They avoided their worst start to a Champions League campaign thanks to two penalties from Rooney, his 25th and 26th goals in the competition taking him above Paul Scholes as the most successful Englishman abroad. That was the highlight, and in fairness all that was required, from United's first win in Group C. The overall story of the match against the Romanian champions was another sluggish European performance and a straight red card for Nemanja Vidic that will bring an automatic one-match suspension with the potential for three, depending on the verdict of Uefa's disciplinary committee.
"I don't think we were lucky. I think we were the better team," Ferguson said. "We dominated possession and we improved in the second half, particularly through Nani, Anderson and Rooney. Those three players changed the game. I wasn't concerned at half-time but I knew what I needed to say to the players. We had possession but we didn't have any penetration. We needed more of that and in the second half we played Rooney further up the field. That made a difference." A ridiculous handball from the home captain, Sergiu Costin, made more, gifting Rooney his first spot-kick of the night.
The England striker returned to a more recognisable, adventurous United lineup as Ferguson abandoned the caution of Anfield and sought to prey on his opponents' inferiority complex. Otelul Galati's president, Marius Stan, wished merely to avoid humiliation, the club having made a pointless start to their first Champions League campaign and a mediocre opening to the defence of their domestic crown. In hindsight, Stan should have shown a little more faith in his employees.
Vidic started for the first time since tearing a calf muscle in the first league game of the season and though his laboured performance on the ball and in the tackle was understandable, his team-mates had less of an excuse. United did not have a shot on target until after the half‑hour, when Rooney's free-kick drew a routine save from Branko Grahovac. Nani eventually injected the pace and directness that was sorely lacking and created a glorious chance for Michael Carrick moments before the interval. Nani's pass from the byline was gift-wrapped but unmarked and 12 yards from goal the midfielder side-footed woefully high.
The game was transformed in the second half, although purely by incident rather than any immediate improvement from United. They remained careless on the attack and Rooney squandered the second clear opening when he collected Nani's pass with his back eight yards from goal, spun and shot inches wide.
His next intervention proved far more telling. United's threat came almost exclusively down their left flank – in stark contrast to anything posed by Fábio and Antonio Valencia on the right – and Rooney was sent into acres of space by Nani. His intended cross for Javier Hernández, however, was blocked by the sweeping arm of Costin. It was a clear penalty and Rooney duly sent Grahovac the wrong way for his 12th goal for club and country this season.
Moments later Vidic threw himself into a high challenge on Gabriel Giurgiu, taking perhaps a touch of the ball but certainly plenty of the man. The tackle was one-footed but reckless and the German referee, Felix Brych, had no hesitation in producing a red card. Relief came for United when Milan Perendija was dismissed for his second booking and, in the final minute, Liviu Antal tripped Rooney inside the area. The United striker scored from 12 yards once more.
Of Vidic's red card, Ferguson said: "I've looked at it and his foot is certainly high. I can understand the referee's interpretation of the incident, though. Maybe it's a bit different in Germany, but I thought it was a little harsh. It was certainly a booking."
