An electric atmosphere at the Ä°nönü Stadium and an ambitious performance was not enough for BeÅŸiktaÅŸ as it lost 1-0 to Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday.

A late winner from Paul Scholes ensured Manchester United got another Champions League campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 win over the Istanbul team.

A game of few chances was settled by the 77th-minute strike from Scholes, the midfielder heading in the rebound after the Turkish champion's goalkeeper, Hakan Arikan, had beaten out a shot from Portugal winger Nani.

It was a far from vintage performance from last season's runner-up but United boss Sir Alex Ferguson declared himself satisfied with a job well done.

"Over the years, Paul Scholes has got a lot of goals like that for us and it is a very important goal for us," he said, Agence France-Reported.

BeÅŸiktaÅŸ fans were expectedly devoted and they hardly gave breathing space for United players.

"It is a fantastic atmosphere here and that's a test of your concentration and your nerve, so this is a good result for us."

BeÅŸiktaÅŸ played with a couple of personnel changes after Saturday's 3-0 loss to Galatasaray in the Turkcell Super League. Striker Nihat Kahveci was replaced by Mert Nobre, while Filip Holosko started instead of Yusuf ÅžimÅŸek. Veteran left back Ä°brahim Üzülmez was used instead of youngster Ä°smail Köybaşı.


As for Manchester United, the likes of Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs were also rested while Dimitar Berbatov had to settle for a place on the bench as Ferguson deployed Wayne Rooney as a lone striker with Antonio Valencia, making his Champions League debut, and Nani operating in wide positions either side of him.

It was quickly apparent that Tomas Sivok was bent on ensuring his presence was felt by Rooney and, by the time six minutes had elapsed, the Besiktas centreback had been booked for a couple of agricultural challenges on the England forward.

Besides that foul, Sivok was in almost perfect harmony with his Italian counterpart Matteo Ferrari. The defenders hardly put a wrong foot in the game.

They were helped by a dynamic play by Fabian Ernst in the midfield, while BeÅŸiktaÅŸ's attacks were limited to occasional dribbling by wingers Serdar Özkan and Holosko.

With neither side having created anything in the way of clear chances, the passing of the hour mark saw Berbatov introduced into the fray along with Michael Owen, whose last appearance in the Champions League was as a Real Madrid player, four and a half years ago.

Owen's entry might have been spectacular with only an errant offside flag denying him the opportunity to demonstrate his finishing skills in a one-on-one with Arıkan after Berbatov's flick had sent him clear of the Beşiktaş back four.

The Turkish side responded with Nobre heading a good chance just wide but United immediately moved upfield to finally claim the lead.

Having combined with Owen, Antonio Valencia found enough space to pick out Nani in the inside left channel, just outside the box. The winger, virtually anonymous up until then, sidestepped his marker and unleashed a fierce drive that Arıkan could only beat out, allowing Scholes the opportunity to find the net with a header that went in off the post in the 77th minute.

United might have doubled the margin of victory but Owen's first-time shot from the edge of the area whistled a yard wide of Arikan's right-hand post.

That was BeÅŸiktaÅŸ's fourth competitive game without a goal, showing the Black Eagles' failure to sustain a form up front.

Meanwhile, Wolfsburg beat CSKA Moscow 3-1 thanks to a hat trick by Brazilian Grafite