Javier Hernandez was the hero for Manchester United as they hauled themselves back from a two-goal deficit to beat Braga at Old Trafford.

Approaching the 26th anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson's appointment as manager, the comeback was a suitably fitting way to preserve his side's 100% record and means, barring a complete collapse in their final three games, they will advance to next spring's knockout stage.

However, with two games against Chelsea and a home encounter with Arsenal to come before the return fixture in a fortnight, Ferguson must harbour serious concerns about United's fragile defence. Incredibly, they have now fallen behind eight times in 12 games this season.

Last night it took less than two minutes to surrender the initiative and they fell further behind before Hernandez pulled a goal back then Jonny Evans netted the equaliser. The Mexican, however, capped a fine display by nodding home the winner 15 minutes from time.

Asked for his thoughts after another dismal start, Hernandez said: "I was thinking 'oh, we just need to score three more goals and we will get the three points.

"We started badly but thankfully we scored three goals and we can now look forward to the next game."

Ferguson said of his side's performance: "It's been the story of our season at home, starting badly and conceding goals – and it is a worry that we are losing those goals – but we have managed to rescue games and managed to do so once again."