David Moyes won his first European game as Manchester United manager this evening as the Red Devils beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 at Old Trafford.
Wayne Rooney opened the scoring for the hosts in controversial fashion as his volley went in with Antonio Valencia seemingly obstructing the keeper.
Rooney should have had a second after half time but he somehow missed having rounded the keeper, and he was immediately punished. Leverkusen went up the other end and scored within two minutes courtesy of Simon Rolfes's curling strike.
Robin van Persie restored his side's lead shortly afterwards, although his acrobatic volley should have been saved by Bernd Leno in the Leverkusen goal.
Rooney did eventually get his second when he latched on to a long kick from David de Gea before slotting the ball past Leno, while Valencia put the result beyond doubt nine minutes later with a low drive from the edge of the box.
The visitors did manage to get a goal back in the closing stages through Omer Toprak, while Van Persie rivalled Rooney's miss late on by putting the ball wide from three yards with the goal gaping.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an eventful 90 minutes of Champions League football.
Match statistics:
Manchester United:
Shots 16
On target 7
Possession 60%
Corners 6
Fouls 7
Bayer Leverkusen:
Shots 12
On target 7
Possession 40%
Corners 6
Fouls 8
Was the result fair?
Yes. Manchester United were not at their best for the entire match, but they always looked like the team most likely to score as they threatened in attack while keeping Leverkusen's strikers quiet at the other end. The first half was relatively quiet on the whole, but United turned up the heat towards the end and it proved to be a sign of things to come. United could have had more than the four that they scored, while Leverkusen had perhaps one more good chance other than the two that provided their goals.
Manchester United's performance
The first half was a little stale from United as they struggled to find any real rhythm, but they still managed to show glimpses of quality, particularly towards the end of the half. The second half saw them play more positive football, and that was reflected in the number of chances that they created. The fourth goal in particular was vintage United as they cut Leverkusen apart on the counter-attack. They are still not the finished article by any means, but there were a lot more positives than negatives for David Moyes tonight.
Bayer Leverkusen's performance
A little disappointing on the whole. To come to Old Trafford and score twice is no mean feat, but their defence gifted United two of the goals and, in truth, they were lucky that they only conceded four tonight. They didn't pose an attacking threat at all in the first half and, while that improved in the second 45 minutes, there was rarely any doubt that United would go on to win the game.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Wayne Rooney: He may have been responsible for one of the misses of the season (more on that later), but Rooney was the difference between the two sides tonight. He looked dangerous throughout, and any doubts that lingered over his happiness at Old Trafford must surely have evaporated now. He had a hand in three of the goals, including netting two for himself to claim a personal landmark - 200 goals for Manchester United. Only Sir Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and Jack Rowley have reached that total for the club before him.
Biggest gaffe
Take your pick. Before we get down to the serious ones, Bernd Leno's attempted save from Van Persie's effort deserves an honourable mention. There are two stand-out choices for not just gaffe of the game, but also gaffe of the season here, though. First, Rooney rounded the keeper but somehow managed to put the ball across the face of goal with an open goal to aim at. He could have played it to Van Persie or rolled it in himself, but he did neither and put his effort wide. Then Van Persie was the culprit himself late on, steering a Valencia cross wide from three yards when it was easier to score. The fact that they came from the two best goalscorers on the pitch made the misses even harder to believe.
Referee performance
They say that the referee has had a good game if you barely notice him, and that was the case with Damir Skomina today. He did make a mistake allowing the opening goal to stand, but he could have expected help from his linesman and the official behind the goal, both of whom were better placed to make the decision.
What next?
Manchester United: The games don't get any smaller for United. Next up they face their 'noisy neighbours' Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Bayer Leverkusen: Leverkusen will look to get back to winning ways against Mainz at the weekend.
Barney Corkhill
