Scholes first goal of the season secure Red Devils win

Scholes first goal of the season secure Red Devils win

Paul Scholes' first goal of the season handed Manchester United a 1-0 win over Besiktas in their Champions League Group B opener in Istanbul.

United, finalists in the last two seasons of the competition, were looking to get off to a winning start, but often struggled to produce their best in a hostile Turkish atmosphere.

The match was far from a classic, but that won't bother Sir Alex Ferguson one iota after Scholes pounced 13 minutes from time to head home the winner for the Red Devils.

The first half was a tame affair with neither side really getting a foothold in the game. United had half-chances through Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney, while Michael Carrick saw a long-distance shot parried, while Nani curled a free-kick over the bar.

But the Turks were not without their chances either and they probably enjoyed the openings with Serdar Ozkan's shot looping over Ben Foster's crossbar after it had deflected off Jonny Evans.

United made a bright start to the second period with Carrick seeing a tame effort gathered on the line, while Rodrigo Tabata saw a shot from the edge of the area well gathered by Foster.

United introduced Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen - the latter coming on for Rooney, who had a tantrum at his withdrawal - in a bid to pinch victory. But United were struggling to find their rhythm and Antonio Valencia summed up their evening's work when his cross-shot fizzed across goal but wide of the target.

Mert Nobre headed wide for Besiktas in a rare opening for the hosts and it was to prove a costly miss as United went straight up the other end to open the scoring through Scholes after 77 minutes. The goal came after Nani turned inside his marker and fired a shot goalwards, which was pushed out as far as Scholes, who cleverly nodded a first-time header over the grounded goalkeeper and into the unguarded net via the post.

Besiktas did their best to force an equaliser, but there was no way through as United held out for the victory, with Owen wasting a good late opening to double the Red Devils' money.

Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed local police had to step in after a fan with a laser targeted his Manchester United players in Istanbul.

"It was in the first half, although thankfully the police did something about it," said the United boss.

"They managed to get the culprit, which is good because I noticed it particularly on Jonny Evans. It seemed to be on him all the time."

The United manager was delighted with his team's overall display, particularly Antonio Valencia, who was making his Champions League debut following his £17million summer arrival from Wigan.

"Antonio was always a threat," said Ferguson.

"He got to the byline so many times and really we should have done better.

Matchwinner Paul Scholes said: "It was nice to score - any away game in the Champions League is difficult especially in Turkey. I don't think this was our best game, but a win is a win."