MICHAEL OWEN made an immediate impact in his Manchester United debut Saturday, coming off the bench to score with five minutes left in a 3-2 victory over a Malaysian all-star squad in the team’s Asian tour opener.

The striker, who joined Man United on a free transfer from Newcastle, scored after the Premier League champions surrendered a two-goal lead to Malaysian XI before a crowd of 85,000.

Owen pounced on a loose ball after Darron Gibson’s pass to Ryan Giggs was blocked by goalkeeper Mohamad Farizal Marlias. Owen replaced Wayne Rooney in the 61st minute.

Rooney put United ahead in the eighth minute and set up a goal in the 27th minute with a cross to Nani.

Man United will play Malaysian XI again today in Kuala Lumpur after its trip to Indonesia was canceled because of Friday’s bombing of the Jakarta hotel where the team was to stay. The team will depart Wednesday for the next leg of the Asia tour in Seoul and then head to China. The team will play Chinese Super League side Zhejiang Lucheng in Hangzhou on Sunday.

(SD-Agencies)