United boss Ferguson upbeat despite super setback and Scholes blow

Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping to compensate for the absence of Paul Scholes in opening Champions League game by being able to recall Michael Carrick.

Scholes will sit out the match against Villarreal at Old Trafford on September 17 after being sent off last night in the 2-1 defeat by Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup.

The former England midfielder will serve a one-match ban after receiving a second yellow card for deliberate handball.

However Carrick is expected to continue his progress from an ankle injury over the international break and put himself in line for a date with the Spanish side.

Ferguson said: 'Although we will miss Scholes for the first Champions League game, Michael Carrick will hopefully be fit by that time.'

Zenit were good value for their win in Monaco and are aiming to test the best in the Champions League this season after winning the UEFA Cup and their domestic title.

While Ferguson was disappointed at the result against the Russians, he is confident United will be able to advance from the group stages. Celtic and the Danes of Aalborg also lie in wait.

He said: 'It creates that little bit of spice because I am coming back to Glasgow.

'But looking at the overall group, we should be okay in terms of qualifying. We can progress.'

With Carrick missing and Owen Hargreaves suffering a re-occurrence of a knee injury, United struggled to unlock Zenit on a humid night.

However Ferguson was heartened by the performance of Argentina forward Carlos Tevez, who put in a hard shift.

'I thought Tevez was the outstanding player on the pitch,' said the United boss. 'I thought he was fantastic, our best player.

'We had the best chances throughout the match. It was an open game and both teams did very well.

'We have put a good effort in on a warm night and there were a lot of tired players at the end of it.'

Goals from Pavel Pogrebnyak and Danny gave Zenit a memorable victory.

Pogrebnyak scored a powerful header at the back post to leave United rattled a minute before half time.

Then Danny, a shrewd investment at 30million Euros, showed a touch of class in the 59th minute after shrugging off Rio Ferdinand to extend their lead.

Nemanja Vidic pulled a goal back in the 73rd minute but that was as good as it got for the Champions League winners.

Vidic said: 'They are a very good team and certainly in the first half they were much better than us.

'It was hard to lose a goal so close to half time but I did not think we deserved to win the match.

'We had time to draw level after I scored but it was not to be and it is a bad result.

'Every game is important to us and we wanted more silverware. But it is important we focus again on the Premier League after the international break.'