Manchester United put the furor surrounding Wayne Rooney's future to one side for 90 minutes Wednesday to beat Turkish side Bursaspor 1-0 in the Champions League.
Portugal winger Nani put United ahead in the ninth minute at Old Trafford with a curling shot to the far post, taking the three-time European champions to seven points in Group C.
United is unbeaten and in a strong position to qualify for the next round, when it could be without Rooney after the England striker publicly stated his desire to quit the club.
Nani made the most of United's early superiority, collecting a through ball in the right channel, drifting left across the edge of the area and hitting a shot past goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov.
Defender Nemanja Vidic headed wide from a corner and midfielder Michael Carrick shot wide before the tempo dropped after halftime.
In the second half, Patrice Evra drew a save from Ivankov, Frederico Macheda dribbled into the area before being dispossessed and Nani smashed a free kick over the bar.
"We could have pushed on better but I think we did the job well in terms of the intensity of our game," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "We controlled the whole match, I think they had one shot with two minutes to go or something like that, but we could have done better in terms of last-third play.
"I didn't think they could score, our defensive concentration was very good."
United dominated Bursaspor - in the Champions League for the first time after becoming only the second team from outside Istanbul to win the Turkish league - despite resting Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Edwin van der Sar.
Rooney was already sidelined with an ankle injury before releasing a statement hours before the game detailing his dissatisfaction with the club's inability to afford top players.
Bursaspor has yet to score a goal or secure a point in Group C.
