Manchester United beats Debrecen

Manchester:

Manchester United defeated Hungarian champion Debrecen 3-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of third-round Champions League qualifying. Wayne Rooney gave United a 1-0 lead after only seven minutes, and he then set up Ruud Van Nistelrooy with the second goal in the 49th. Again it was Rooney, passing to Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portugal international made it 3-0 in the 63rd. The three sons of new Manchester United owner Malcolm Glazer - Joel, Avi and Bryan - were at Old Trafford for Man United's first competitive game under the American's ownership. Several hundred fans demonstrated outside the 67,500-seat stadium. No incidents were reported, but thousands of empty seats greeted the new owners. On a visit in June shortly after Glazer took control of the club in his US$1.47 billion takeover, the three brothers needed a police escort from the stadium. Bryan Glazer was forced to defend his father when a group of fans broke into a VIP area after a victory over Beijing Hyundai on a recent tour of Asia. Applying all the early pressure, Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy and Rooney were involved as the England forward scored from 15 meters (yards) in the 7th minute. Manchester United had all the possession in the first half, and in the first 20 minutes it looked like the English might score two or three. But the tempo tailed off by halftime. Van Nistelrooy made it 2-0, taking a through ball from Rooney and sending it home. Again it was Rooney in the 63rd, who took a pass from Van Nistelrooy and then dished it off for Ronaldo to score. (AP)