Sixty-six days after suffering title heartbreak at the hands of Manchester City in a dramatic final twist to the season, Sir Alex Ferguson's side overcame the sixth best team in South Africa last season with a first-half goal from Fedrico Macheda.
Surprisingly, the architect of their victory was Dimitar Berbatov who is perhaps fortunate to be on this tour after publicly calling for Ferguson to sell him before the squad flew out on Monday.
Whether he is still at Old Trafford when the new season starts is another matter as speculation grows over a move to Galatasaray or a return to Tottenham.
Berbatov was at the heart of United's best moves and set up Macheda in the 20th minute with a neat pass, the Italian applying the finish by slipping the ball under the body of goalkeeper Tapuwa Kapini.
The goal was United's reward for a dominant opening but a team containing several fresh faces in Frederic Vaseli, Scott Wootton, Robbie Brady and the impressive Jesse Lingard - and playing in the questionable new gingham-style kit - came under more pressure as AmaZulu grew in confidence, and Anders Lindegaard had to produce key saves from Ayanda Dlamini and Carlington Nyadombo to preserve the lead.
Despite all the changes made by both teams, Ferguson kept Shinji Kagawa on the bench until the 89th minute when the Japan international received a huge ovation.
United's other new signing Nick Powell did not feature at all but will hope to play a part in Saturday's second game in Cape Town.
Source : DailyMail.co.uk
