In terms of previous visits to Galatasaray this was not a needs win basis but a defeat was on the cards considering the number of absentees.
It was a reserve team of sorts but Rafael and Hernandez started and 4 England internationals started included a first appearance of the season for Phil Jones. The only youngster to start was Nick Powell. I watched him play against Wigan earlier in the season and he scored a long range goal and looked to have a pp at goal every time he saw the white sticks. Last night was a big test and in my eyes he passed with flying colours. Powell is only 18 but played a mature role linking midfield and attacking and was unlucky with a header that crashed off the bar late in the first half.
The goal was another header from a set piece for which Fletcher and Jones could be disappointed with there challenge but that aside the team defended well and attacked in numbers when the opportunity arose.
Rafael was given a torrid time down the flank and this resulted in Fletcher dropping back to help the Brazilian. Buttner on the other flank played well and was solid if not spectacular. Carrick and Jones played centre halfs and was disappointed not to see Scott Wootton given another chance but maybe will against Cluj. It was good to see Phil Jones back and a few more games will see him back to his best like last season.
Fletcher and Cleverley did there bit but in terms of attacking it was very limited and the odd occasional burst of speed by Danny Welbeck against Eboue was on very rare occasions. Hernandez troubled there defence and sparked into life in the last 10 minutes especially when Macheda made a rare appearance for United.
Considering the team the result wasn't too bad and the key thing was resting the big guns for the visit of the London teams of QPR and West Ham at Old Trafford.
Man of the match in terms of his energy and output it has to be Nick Powell. I think we will see a bit more of him this season.
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