Manchester United vs. Galatasaray Recap Champions League 2012-13: Man U holds on for 1-0 win while Cluj defeats Braga 2-0

Manchester United's Michael Carrick applauds after their Champions League Group H soccer match against Galatasaray at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England, September 19, 2012.
(Photo : REUTERS/Darren Staples (BRITAIN - Tags: SPORT SOCCER))

Manchester United got the win they needed against Galatasaray to start their Champions League run on a high note.

Michael Carrick scored the only goal of the match just seven minutes in on a highlight reel goal. Carrick ran into the box all alone and received a Shinji Kagawa pass. Goalkeeper Fernando Musiera tripped him, but Carrick managed to poke the ball while on the group to score his first Champions League goal in three years.

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Galatasaray hit the pipes twice before Carrick struck and Man U keeper David Gea made a few strong saves in his first start in two weeks.

Manchester's Javier Hernandez had a few chances to add to the lead but was unable to score on two clear chances. Robin Van Persie also failed to do much creating aside from a pass he made to Kagawa on the goal.

The other match in the group did not go as planned with CFR Cluj-Napoca defeating Braga 2-0 in Portugal. Having former Braga players seemed work in Cluj's advantage as two of the former Braga players haunted Braga all night. Brazilian striker Rafael Bastos scored a brace in the 19^th and 34^th minute to prevail in a match that was thoroughly dominated by the Portuguese side. Braga outshot CFR Cluj 38 to 11 and dominated possession 71 percent to 29 percent. But it was not enough as Cluj scored and then defended for the remainder of the match.