Champions League: Man U rally to beat Wolfsburg

Manchester: Manchester United fought back from a goal down to beat a feisty VfL Wolfsburg side 2-1 and move top of Champions League Group B on Wednesday.

Midfielder Michael Carrick struck the winner 12 minutes from time after Ryan Giggs`s deflected free kick had cancelled out a fine header from Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko which handed the German champions a shock lead soon after halftime. "I thought it was a marvellous performance from us tonight," United manager Alex Ferguson told a news conference. "They started very well. The first 15 minutes they gave us some problems and it took us some time to get a rhythm going.”"The front two are a handful, they`re difficult to play against, particularly Dzeko. He was very good for them. Dealing with that sole threat isn`t easy and we`re quite happy to get through it with a victory." United, seeking to reach the final for the third season in a row, started slowly and striker Michael Owen, struggling with a groin injury, had to be replaced by Dimitar Berbatov after just 20 minutes. United`s threat was limited in the opening period and the closest they came to breaking the deadlock was a Carrick shot that was blocked by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. Shock lead Nine minutes after the restart, Dzeko rose above Patrice Evra to nod Makato Hasebe`s cross past Tomasz Kuszczak and give Wolfsburg a shock lead in their first Champions League campaign. But Giggs`s free kick flew in off the wall to pull United level and the veteran midfielder then laid the ball off for Carrick to curl it into the top corner and secure United`s eighth consecutive victory in all competitions. "Ryan shows this incredible youthfulness it`s as if he`s just starting his career and I don`t know how many plaudits you can give him more than he has had," Ferguson said. "You can praise him to the high heavens because he doesn`t get affected by it. He`s continuing like a young man and it`s wonderful to see." Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh was happy with his team`s performance. "We started well and didn`t fall into the trap of standing off and sitting back. It was a very good move to create the first goal," he said. "Overall I think we deserved a draw and we were unlucky to lose." Bureau Report