Michael Owen got his Manchester United career off to a flyer on Saturday when he scored the winner on his debut as the Premier League champion struggled past a Malaysian XI 3-2. The former Newcastle and England striker, who moved to Old Trafford on a free transfer this month, came on as a substitute for Wayne Rooney after 60 minutes with the score at 2-2 and made the most of his chance. He pounced with five minutes left, picking up the ball just inside the box and rounding the goalkeeper before planting a right foot shot into the net. It dug United out of a hole after it let a two-goal lead, courtesy of Rooney and Nani, slip. Goalkeeping errors let the home team back in the game, with Amri Yahyah capitalizing both times. Sir Alex Ferguson brought a 22-man squad to Asia and said ahead of the game he would start with his best 11 – and it didn't include Owen. Instead, Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov led the attack with the promising Darron Gibson wide on the right and Nani on the left. Paul Scholes and Anderson were in the middle while Rio Ferdinand took the captain's armband ahead of Gary Neville. Joining him in defense were Patrice Evra, Johnny Evans and John O'Shea, with Edwin Van Der Sar in goal. Manchester United will play another match in Malaysia to compensate for pulling out of a game in Indonesia after the Jakarta hotel it was due to stay in was bombed. Some 3,000 seats at the National Stadium here have been allocated for fans who bought tickets for the match in Jakarta. Chelsea downs Seattle Teenager Daniel Sturridge scored and helped to set up Frank Lampard's goal as Chelsea opened its preseason tour of America with a 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders in Seattle on Saturday. The 19-year-old Sturridge was making his debut following an offseason move from Manchester City to Stamford Bridge, and he helped make a winner out of new manager Carlo Ancelotti following his offseason move from AC Milan. Didier Drogba and Michael Essien never took off their warmups, while Ashley Cole, John Terry and Petr Cech were among the Chelsea starters to only a half. Pirates sink City In South Africa, new signing Carlos Tevez watched from the sideline as Manchester City lost 2-0 to Orlando Pirates Saturday in the opening Vodacom Challenge tournament match. City manager Mark Hughes said was “too dangerous” to field Argentine Tevez and another close-season striking purchase Paraguayan Roque Santa Cruz in this northern city as they lacked match fitness. City adds Adebayor Manchester City continued its spending spree with the signing of Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor for an undisclosed fee on Saturday. The 25-year-old Togo international, who has penned a five-year contract, joins an impressive City forward line. The big-spending Premier League club already boasts Carlos Tevez and Roque Santa Cruz, also signed in the close season, plus Robinho, Craig Bellamy and Benjani Mwaruwari.
