Sir Alex Ferguson said Michael Owen remains one of the world's most dangerous strikers after a hat-trick by his summer signing gave an injury-ravaged Manchester United an unlikely 3-1 Champions League win at Wolfsburg last night.
Owen has experienced a slow-burn beginning to his United career since arriving from Newcastle but his goals against the German champions afforded a defensively makeshift team a victory which ensured they finished top of their group.
"Michael Owen is one of the very best strikers around in terms of his positional play and finishing," said United's manager on an evening when the striker may have reignited his hopes of reviving his England career in South Africa next June.
With Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov sidelined by injury, Owen, overlooked by Fabio Capello, was afforded a rare start by his club. Asked if he had staked a claim to begin games on a more regular basis, Ferguson said: "Absolutely. The real evidence of ability is always found on the football field and Michael has given us plenty of that tonight.
"Michael has improved steadily in training since joining us but, in some games recently, we've chosen to play just one central striker. We had a different system featuring two strikers tonight, Michael's proved his worth in it and we're delighted."
Owen played down his display. "Me getting three goals will probably grab the headlines but it was a great team performance," he said. "I was playing deep with us having so many players out and we were trying to protect the [defence]."
Owen relieved the pressure on a back three comprising Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Patrice Evra, the latter being Ferguson's sole fit recognised defender. "I was very pleased with the defence," said Ferguson, who was linked last night with a shock move for the former England defender Sol Campbell, a free agent after settling a contract dispute with Notts County but unlikely to be able to play again until the transfer window opens.
"Obviously changing the system was a risk but Wolfsburg's strikers, Edin Dzeko and Grafite are very imposing and I thought three centre-backs would give us a better than normal chance against them. There was pressure on Wolfsburg to get something and that meant we could be patient. They missed two good first-half opportunities from two headers and it would have been difficult for us if they'd taken the lead but we caught them on the counter-attack."
Ferguson has never been a 3-5-2 man but Carrick's display in an unaccustomed sweeping role will have given him – and possibly even Capello – food for thought. Admittedly he was fortunate not to concede a penalty but, rather like Glenn Hoddle and Ruud Gullit, it is not impossible that the elegant midfielder could yet end his career reinvented as a libero.
If United rode their luck at times, fortune similarly smiled on their manager in terms of the medical bulletins from home. Ferguson confirmed there was good news from the treatment room before Saturday's Premier League game against Aston Villa. "[Nemanja] Vidic should be fit, Ryan Giggs will be fine and we expect Rooney to be back," said Ferguson. "I hope I can start with a back four of Fletcher, Vidic, Carrick and Evra."
Among the teams United could face are Bayern Munich, who won 4-1 at Juventus to finish second to Bordeaux in Group A, and Milan, runners-up to Real Madrid in Group C. "It's great being top so we play at home second," Owen said. "But I'm not going to lie, you want as weak a side as possible. [But] if a team has got to first or second in the Champions League, there are no weak sides, although you obviously want to avoid the big boys."
Wolfsburg finished third in the group but second-placed CSKA Moscow could be thrown out of the Champions League after Uefa said two of their players, Sergei Ignashevich and Alexei Berezutsky, tested positive for a banned substance after the match at Old Trafford on 3 November.
The pair were suspended from last night's win at Besiktas and their case is due to be heard by a Uefa disciplinary committee on 17 December. CSKA said the pair had been the victims of a procedural error by the club's medical staff, who failed to inform Uefa they were on cold medicine. The drug taken had not been on a prohibited list but still needed to be disclosed.
