Manchester United were defeated 2-1 by Russian club Zenit St Petersburg in the UEFA Super Cup played in Monaco on Friday night.

Zenit's Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the opener and GBP 24 million signing, Danny extended their lead.

Emanol Vidic scored the Red Devils only goal, but they looked like a side a little short on attacking options as they failed to equalise.

Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney worked hard, but Zenit defended admirably. The absence of United's prolific goal scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo, was definitely evident as Sir Alex Ferguson has understandably struggled to fill that void.

The man who might make the difference to United's attack is striker Dimitar Berbatov, who still remains at Tottenham.

Ferguson praised Zenit manager Dick Advocaat, who has changed the club into an admirable force in Europe. Zenit won the UEFA Cup and the Russian domestic title last season.

Paul Scholes showed his frustration over his team's inability to equalise when he was shown a second yellow card after deliberately handling the ball in United's box. The veteran will therefore miss the home Champions League match against Villareal through suspension.