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| Bastian Schweinsteiger starred as United beat Wolfsburg 2-1 |
THE last place you have wanted to find yourself recently is behind anything with a VW logo on the front.
But if the prospect raised fears that once again an English club was about to choke, Manchester United escaped that fate with some ease.
There were more obvious catalysts for the recovery which saw United first cancel out and then pass the troubled car giant's sporting toy, Wolfsburg, at Old Trafford last night.
The skills of Juan Mata and Anthony Martial lit up the last third but if you were picking out a driving force which allowed them to recover it was presence of Bastian Schweinsteiger at the base of midfield.
The last time Germany's captain played a Champions' League fixture here it was at the tail end of his brilliant 13 seasons at Bayern Munich late season 2014. He was sent off in the last minute.
But any fear that United have bought a player with nothing left to offer, and especially on night's such as this when composure is needed, this performance blew such thoughts away.
Schweinsteiger may have slowed a touch - enough to need the six years younger legs of Morgan Schneiderlin alongside side him for support - but the speed at which his brain works relative to most on the pitch, almost makes it all up.
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| Chris Smalling's goal gave United the victory |
The only time he showed his 31 years last night was when booked for a mistimed tackle on Maximilian Arnold and it was his mistimed shot which sat up for Mata's flick to Chris Smalling to put them ahead.
Nothing else about his arrival in Manchester looks badly timed.
Louis van Gaal will clearly limit his exposure to injury in domestic competition - he has made three starts in the league to date - but the German looks set to the linchpin of his European assault with good reason.
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