Returning Scot steals focus as United get in a spot of bother

Thursday 20 September 2012

HIS return was greeted warmly on both sides of the border.

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Darren Fletcher made a late cameo appearance for Manchester United last night in a Champions League group stage win over Galatasaray, the midfielder's first appearance since being diagnosed with a bowel condition which had put his career in doubt.

The Scotland captain had made a tentative return to action – he turned out for United's reserves, his last competitive appearance coming on November 22 – but his arrival as a substitute for Paul Scholes 11 minutes from the end was confident, however brief. The reception was a standing ovation from the home support but a few more in Scotland will also have sat up and taken notice, especially considering the faltering state of the national team's World Cup campaign.Fletcher's return was a rare point of contentment for United. Michael Carrick's goal – his first in the Champions League in three years – was the other.That came after just seven minutes, the United midfielder stepping on to a pass from Shinji Kagawa before stepping inside goalkeeper Fernando Musiera and steering a shot into the net. It was a moment of assurance which was to prove rare for the home side.Indeed, luck proved the more prominent trait of this United performance. Galatasaray had two convincing penalty appeals waved away, hitting the woodwork a further two times and also spurning two clear chances.That had allowed United to survive their own moment of profligacy, Nani missing from the penalty spot after Rafael was felled inside the box. His effort was pushed away by Musiera.The miss could have been more costly. After an errant pass from Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic tried to redeem the situation by lunging in on Umut Bulut inside the penalty area, bringing down the Galatasaray player. Referee Wolfgang Stark might not have seen the foul but there was no excuse for the goal-line assistant missing it.Galatasaray's response was for Nordin Amrabat to clip the crossbar with a curling shot from the edge of the area which had David de Gea looking on helplessly in the United goal. Hamit Altintop also came within inches of restoring parity; the Turk slamming a free-kick on to De Gea's left-hand post.United were faltering at the other end too; Emmanuel Eboue preventing former Arsenal team-mate Robin Van Persie from turning Antonio Valencia's low cross in at the far post. Largely though, United's patient build-up broke down before they got within shooting distance.In contrast, Altintop was almost peppered De Gea's goal. The Spanish goalkeeper pulled off two impressive blocks to preserve his side's narrow lead while United also had the officials to thank in the final moments as they ignored another penalty claim from Galatasaray; this time Aydin Yilmaz being bundled over in the box only for his claim to go unheralded once more.

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Returning Scot steals focus as United get in a spot of bother

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