The winger received a warm reception from home fans at the club where he began his professional career, but there was no room for sentiment when he nodded home Wes Brown's cross in the 62nd minute for the only goal of the Group F match.

Ronaldo, whose celebrations were muted, told Sky Sports 2 afterwards: "I feel good.

"This is my colour, red, this is my team, but I like Sporting - it's my second home and I am a little bit sad, but Manchester is my team.

"These people are very important to me. But I am happy for the victory and three points."

He added: "It was a perfect night - I score, I win, it was great for Manchester United."

Ronaldo was thrilled to have negotiated a potentially difficult night.

"It is always important to win away," he said.

"It was a fantastic game that everyone enjoyed and I think the result was fair."

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to open with a win away from Old Trafford as his side continued to bury their reputation for European travel sickness.

"Winning your first game away from home sets the tone for us," he told Sky Sports.

"At half-time we looked to improve our game with more penetration and I think we did.

"They had some opportunities on the edge of the box but never really opened us up."

Ferguson was happy with Wayne Rooney's contribution as he lasted more than 70 minutes in his first appearance since breaking his foot on the opening day of the season.

"It was difficult to know how long to keep him on but the goal made it easy," he said.

"I'm sure he'll be ready for Sunday (against Chelsea)."