By Chris O'Brien
September 20 2006

Manchester United got their European Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 3-2 victory over Celtic. 74,031 packed into Old Trafford as a brace from Louis Saha and an Ole Gunnar Solskjaer strike proved just enough for the below-par Reds.

Manchester United got their Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 3-2 victory over Scottish champions Celtic.

Many pundits were predicting an easy ride for the Red Devils, but they were made to work by the Hoops who travelled in massive numbers with green & white shirts evident all over the home end. In many instances, there ended the so-called friendly relationship between the two sets of supporters!

After a sluggish start, the visitors took the lead thanks to an excellent finish from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink after 21 minutes. Poor defending from Rio Ferdinand allowed the extravagantly named striker to create himself time and space in front of goal and he slotted his effort passed Edwin Van Der Sar.

United's equaliser was only seven minutes away. Artur Boruc was, harshly, adjudged to have brought down Ryan Giggs in the penalty area but was only booked for his efforts. Louis Saha took full advantage from the penalty spot and parity was restored. Sadly, Giggs' fall meant the Welshman's evening was over as he hobbled off with a hamstring problem. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was introduced in the winger's place.

There was a terrific atmosphere inside Old Trafford - one which can only be associated with European nights - and the home fans were in delight minutes before the interval as Saha struck again to put the Red Devils in front. The French international fired home a Paul Scholes cross after the midfielder had won possession from the lumbering Thomas Gravesen.

Nevertheless, any home supporters that thought the nerves were over for the evening were proved wrong only minutes later. Shunsuke Nakamura's superb 25-yard free-kick gave Van Der Sar no chance and made sure the two teams were level at the interval.

United's football was lacking quality and, arguably, the Reds had not showed enough respect to the Bhoys who had witnessed their direct approach pay dividends during the first 45 minutes. However, their hard work was undone only minutes after the re-start as Gravesen, who had a dissappointing night, played a careless pass straight to the feet of Scholes who saw his effort parried away by Boruc, only for substitute Solskjaer to make amends from only yards out.

Celtic's heads dropped and United should have gone onto win by a greater margin but they were wasteful in front of goal and will need to improve if they expect to win any points off Arsenal on Sunday. This was a game that provided bags of entertainment, but lacked the quality and was laden with errors.

Never mind - a win's a win and, with the Reds securing victory in their first ever competitive game against the Celts, it was another special night at Old Trafford.

Full Time - Manchester United 3-2 Glasgow Celtic
Attendance - 74,031

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, Fletcher, Scholes (O'Shea 79), Carrick, Giggs (Solskjaer 32), Rooney (Richardson 86), Saha.
Substitutes Not Used: Kuszczak, Evra, Smith, Vidic.

Glasgow Celtic: Boruc, Wilson (Telfer 51), Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Lennon, Nakamura, Gravesen, Jarosik (Miller 55), McGeady (Maloney 69), Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Substitutes Not Used: Marshall, Balde, Zurawski, Sno.