From The Touchlines

THE TEVEZ-ROONEY SHOW: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (No. 10) and Carlos Tevez celebrate after combining to score United’s third goal in a comprehensive 4-1 win over Middlesbrough.

Who says Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney are too similar and can’t play together?

Both Manchester United forwards proved their critics wrong with a stunning display against Middlesbrough, which produced a 4-1 win to take them to the top of the table.

The 4-1 win is their fourth in which they have scored four goals.

United began with Ryan Giggs on the bench, while Anderson reprised his role in midfield after credible displays against Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa and Dynamo Kiev.

Owen Hargreaves also returned after a knee injury.

Nani sparked Old Trafford into wild celebrations with the first chance of the match after three minutes, with a superb strike from way outside the area, cutting in from the left.

Never mind that Cristiano Ronaldo was calling for the ball, the end result was just fantastic, and Nani celebrated with his trademark backflip.

Two minutes later United nearly doubled their tally, only for Boro’s Mark Schwarzer to thwart Tevez’s effort after the Argentine was released by Ronaldo.

If United were hungry for more goals, they definitely did not see a Boro goal coming – and they were caught napping.

Former Arsenal man Jeremie Aliadiere finished off Tuncay Sanli’s cross, with United’s defence virtually absent when the header went in.

With parity restored, Boro began to clamp down on United, and nearly put themselves in the lead when Stewart Downing’s header from Tuncay’s cross went narrowly wide after 24 minutes.

Ronaldo was almost on the scoresheet himself four minutes later, only for him to drag the ball wide after Rooney had played a nice square ball to him.

If Downing was unlucky in front of United’s goal, defensively he was not having a good day either. What would have been a simple clearance by the England midfielder in his own area was messed up when he cleared the ball to Rooney.

Rooney immediately latched onto the ball and slammed it into the back of the net after 33 minutes. Downing held his head in disbelief. Really, it was a rare moment.

Ronaldo was on target two minutes later following a nice pull back by John O’Shea, who featured at leftback in the absence of the injured Patrice Evra.

United were bursting with energy and stringing a host of passes, keeping Boro’s defence on their toes with no chance of reprieve.

Boro even had to deal with a late surge by United in the first half, with Schwarzer coming out to clear Rooney’s pass to Tevez, but Nani gratefully latched onto the rebound, but his cross into the area is accidentally hit into Schwarzer by Ronaldo.

United came out after the break without a break in momentum, and Rooney could have had his second, had his kept the ball down after Tevez had played a nice through ball to him.

On the other end, Edwin van der Sar, who had been largely untroubled throughout the match, produced a world class save from Lee Cattermole when he tipped the latter’s strike over.

It was only a matter of a minute when Tevez and Rooney produced the first of their fine display.

Anderson started the ball rolling with a lofted pass to Tevez, who played a first time ball to Rooney. The England forward then returned the favour with a back heel, and the Argentine, unmarked, clinically finished off the move by slotting the ball home.

Jubilations soared, with both players congratulating each other for fine assists, while Boro responded by taking off Aliadiere and bringing on Ben Hutchinson.

Three minutes later Rooney and Tevez were at it again, but this time Boro were lucky to see the ball anywhere else except in their goal.

Hargreaves was replaced after 66 minutes, with Scotsman Darren Fletcher on in his place. Another substitution followed seven minutes later, with Gerard Pique replacing Rio Ferdinand.

United were rallying for more goals, and Rooney could have had another had his header found the back of the net. Instead, it fell into Schwarzer’s arms.

Downing had a chance to redeem himself eight minutes from time with a freekick, which was awarded after Pique appeared to have tugged at Hutchinson’s shirt, but his effort was just wide.

That was a chance sorely missed, and Boro messed up defensively again three minutes later, thanks to the combination of Tevez and Rooney.

Despite having played more than 80 minutes of the match, Rooney had all the energy inside of him when he burst forward upon receiving a headed pass from Ronaldo.

Rooney then pulled the ball wide for Tevez, who teased the defenders before putting in a strike, and unluckily for one of them – Andrew Taylor – the ball struck his hand before sailing over Schwarzer into goal.

It will be one of the freakiest goals you will ever see. Luckily for Taylor, referee Alan Wiley did not choose to stop the match and flash him a red card. The poor defender would have been so red-faced then.

David Wheater had a last-gasp desperate attempt to try and stop the haemorrhage, but the defender’s strike was easily saved by van der Sar three minutes from time.

The win sealed United’s position on top, at least for the moment, before Liverpool and Arsenal clash at Anfield later. In the meantime, let’s revel in the glory of another comfortable win for the Red Devils!

Team line-up

ManU: van der Sar (gk), Brown, Ferdinand (Pique, 73′), Vidic, O’Shea, Anderson (Giggs, 78′), Hargreaves (Fletcher, 66′), Nani, Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney

Boro: Schwarzer (gk), Young, Woodgate, Wheater, Taylor, Cattermole, O’Neil, Rochemback, Downing, Tuncay (Lee, 80′), Aliadiere (Hutchinson, 55′)

GOAL NO. 2: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (second from right) taps home United’s second goal in a 4-2 win over Dynamo Kiev in a UEFA Champions League match.

Manchester United virtually secured a knockout spot when they defeated Dynamo Kiev 4-2 in a UEFA Champions League match-up in Kiev.

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the side with a double, while Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand scored the other two respectively.

Kiev, meanwhile scored two of their own through forwards Diogo Rincon and Ismael Bangoura.

United’s Nemanja Vidic made the trip to Kiev after a short spell away from the pitch, and he replaced his deputy Gerard Pique, who had made considerable impact in his two matches.

Carlos Tevez started in this match after playing supporting roles in the previous games, and who should partner him upfront other than Wayne Rooney.

Kiev’s Bangoura tested Edwin van der Sar in the first minute of the match, with signs clearly showing of a match that would be – to put it mildly – exciting.

Both teams were passing the ball very quickly and swiftly, with United gradually settling into their stride as the game wore on.

After 10 minutes, Kiev’s Tiberiu Ghioane put in a rash challenge against Ronaldo, and the resulting freekick by Giggs was headed into the net by Rio Ferdinand.

This time, Ferdinand claimed the goal and nobody would question anything. A good solid header it was, by any standards. And it was his first Champions League goal.

United were moving well and stringing inch-perfect passes, and at the same time maintaining the swift pace both teams engineered.

But Kiev soon took over in search of the equaliser. Rooney, however, had other plans.

Rooney was more than happy to be in the right place at the right time after 17 minutes and slot him United’s second on the night, after Ronaldo and Wes Brown combined to perfection to set the England forward up.

Almost immediately, Ronaldo had a chance to score the third goal and virtually kill off the game, but a brilliant ball forward by Anderson could only be struck wide by the Portuguese winger.

United were literally flying by then, and three minutes later, Rooney blasted a shot against keeper Oleksandr Shovkovskiy, while Tevez, on the rebound, struck the ball against Goran Gavrancic.

Kiev winger Maksim Shatskikh then tried to spur his team on with a fine driving run into United’s penalty area, but Ferdinand was quick to read his moves and cleared the ball out.

After 25 minutes, Bangoura held well against United’s backline deep in the box, but an interplay between him and Ghioane yielded nothing in the end.

But nine minutes later, van der Sar was picking the ball out of his own net after Rincon rose unmarked to head in Carlos Correa’s corner, and put Kiev just a goal behind United.

United had a gilt-edged chance of scoring their third five minutes from the end of the half, but John O’Shea, after being fed by Rooney, could only put in a weak shot that was well held by Shovkovskiy.

But Ronaldo was not to be denied only seconds later, when he rose comfortably between two defenders to head into the top corner of the net and restored United’s two-goal advantage.

Credit to Giggs after a fine driving run took him past Ghioane, with Pape Diakhate unable to do anything about Giggs’ cross. The rest is history.

Kiev were scrambling to try and put in another goal before the break, but United managed to stand their ground amidst a mad scramble in the box.

Even Rooney was kicking himself after missing a fantastic chance of stretching their lead.

Kiev made a double switch at the break, taking off Ghioane and Shatskikh, with Valentin Belkevich and Artem Milevskiy coming on in their respective places.

Oleg Gusev had his first chance in the second half, but after creating space for himself on the right, somehow managed to blast the ball over.

Two minutes later, Kiev were relieved when Anderson, after receiving a pass from Tevez, hit a first-time shot that came back off the upright safely into Shovkovskiy’s hands.

After 53 minutes, Rooney, on the counter attack, played a pass to Tevez, who struck the ball well but was blocked. A subsequent pass by Giggs could not be reached by Rooney, with the latter clashing with the keeper instead.

Kiev were really piling on the pressure on United, with Rincon, Gusev and Correa all trying to break United’s stronghold of the match on the hour mark.

A minute after and Giggs nearly had his goal after Ronaldo had picked him out, but the Welsh winger could only see his shot blocked, while Rooney’s follow-up pass was cleared out for a corner.

Kiev subsequently had a strong penalty claim turned down after 62 minutes, when Milevskiy appeared to have been brought down to the ground by Vidic. But the referee was having none of it and play continued.

Rincon then tested van der Sar twice within the space of a minute, while Bangoura also tried his luck, but to no avail.

The momentum was clearly with the home side, and it only took a moment of carelessness by Gavrancic to spoil it for them.

Gavrancic appeared to have handled the ball with his elbow from a Tevez pass, and he was almost lucky when only a freekick was given to United.

Prior consultation with the linesman saw a change in that decision, and a penalty was awarded, with Ronaldo coolly stepping up and sending Shovkovskiy the wrong way for his second goal of the match.

Kiev subsequently created another good chance when Correa whipped in a pass from the right, only for Rincon to stretch and miss completely.

Anderson was having a good match himself with defence splitting passes, but Rooney, on the receiving end of one of those many passes, could not pull the trigger in time.

After 77 minutes, Nani, who had replaced Tevez five minutes earlier, nearly combined with fellow countryman Ronaldo to perfection.

Their failure to finish off their chances allowed Kiev to instead wrestle the momentum from them, with Bangoura firing a low hard shot underneath van der Sar and into the net a minute after.

The goal took Kiev back to within two goals of United, and gave the home crowd something to cheer about.

United quickly shifted to offensive gear though and Shovkovskiy had to come up big and save Rooney’s shot while on the other end, Kuszczak, who had replaced van der Sar after Bangoura’s goal, was spot on to save Rincon’s strike.

Bangoura tried to double his tally for the night, but his strike was wide this time. Even Nani himself tried the extraordinary but had nothing to show for it.

Three wins out of three means United are in the driving seat in Group H, with AS Roma behind them after a narrow 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon.

Kiev prop the table without a single win, and a place in the knockout stage is almost certainly beyond their wildest dreams now.

Team line-up

DK: Shovkovskiy (gk), Diakhate, Gavrancic, Ghioane (Belkevich, HT), Nesmachniy, Yussuf Avila, Correa (Rotan, 83′), Gusev, Shatskikh (Milevskiy, HT), Bangoura, Rincon

ManU: van der Sar (gk) (Kuszczak, 79′), O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Brown, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs (Simpson, 79′), Ronaldo, Tevez (Nani, 72′), Rooney

TWO-GOAL HERO: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (centre) was denied a hat-trick from a penalty save, and then the crossbar, but the in-form striker was still lethal in the 4-1 away win over Aston Villa.

Manchester United stuck close to rivals Arsenal when they secured a 4-1 victory over nine-man Aston Villa – thanks to a double by Wayne Rooney.

Aston Villa’s recipe for disaster? Nigel Reo-Coker and Scott Carson’s red cards and defenders going to sleep when they shouldn’t.

United’s Gerard Pique was given his second start after Nemanja Vidic failed to recover from an injury he picked up in the match against Wigan Athletic two weeks back.

With an eye on their Champions League encounter with Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday, manager Sir Alex Ferguson rested Cristiano Ronaldo, while Rooney and Rio Ferdinand returned after a disappointing result while on international duty for England against Russia in Euro 2008 qualifiers.

United were almost gifted a gilt-edge chance in the first five minutes of the match when Villa’s Wilfred Bouma was adjudged to have held back Carlos Tevez in the box and at the same time another Villa player making a backpass.

United then tried a different freekick with a little height on it, but Giggs’ strike was blocked by the Villa wall.

Nani subsequently cut in nicely, although his shot was on the opposite side of the net.

A minute after Villa began to get into the match, with winger Ashley Young whipping in a cross which was read well by Ferdinand, who hooked it out for a throw-in.

The momentum was with Villa, and after 12 minutes Gabriel Agbonlahor put them in front when he finished off Young’s cross from the left with a glancing header, with Edwin van der Sar rooted to the spot.

Gardner himself tried his luck when he bypassed both Giggs and Patrice Evra, but his finishing was found wanting as he blasted into the stands.

Villa forward Luke Moore exposed United’s defensive frailties seven minutes later, only for his shot to hit the side netting.

United, who failed to shut out this time, tried to get back on equal terms with Tevez testing the Villa defence twice within five minutes. This was the Villa defence which had effectively shut out Chelsea in a previous match.

After 28 minutes, Moore had the best chance to put Villa 2-0 up – only for him to missed the ball which had been whipped in from the corner flag.

A minute later Rooney failed to connect with Ferdinand’s lofted throughball.

It was 10 minutes before the break when the floodgates began to open, and Rooney had the honour of getting the ball rolling.

Villa’s Bouma – again – was the guilty man when he allowed Nani time and space in the area to conjure up a pass deep in the box and fellow teammate, Zat Knight, without realising Rooney was coming up behind Gardner, allowed the ball to run right across goal.

When both players eventually realised Rooney’s presence, the ball had already been tucked in by Rooney, with Carson comfortably beaten.

Seven minutes later, goal scorer Agbonlahor went down rather theatrically in the area, but referee Rob Styles read the move and waved play on.

The decision proved to be a crucial one as United then took the lead a minute later.

Rooney again was on the end of this one, but Tevez definitely took the credit after a fine driving run from the left, drawing Villa’s defenders upon himself.

The Argentine then placed a pass to the unmarked Rooney, who made space for himself before slotting the ball home underneath Carson.

Knight was, again, guilty of failing to spot Rooney, and Mellberg definitely felt the same way as he looked at his colleague disbelievingly, but United were rejoicing as the Tevez-Rooney partnership was beginning to bear fruits.

United sealed the half with a third goal deep in injury time when Gardner, who had had a good match right up til the first United goal, failed in his goal-line clearance from Ferdinand’s shot.

Gardner’s attempted clearance instead hit the underside of the bar before crossing the line safely.

Initially, Carson dealt well with Pique’s powerful header from Nani’s corner, but his efforts came undone by his own player.

After the break, United’s momentum was soaring and held possession for long spells in the second half.

Nani had a strike saved two minutes into the second half and O’Neill, sensing he needed some momentum to start rolling, made a double switch by bringing on Shaun Maloney and Isaiah Osbourne for Moore and Gardner respectively.

Both players did inject pace into the match, at least in Villa’s terms, when Agbonlahor saw a glimmer of hope after going past van der Sar following a pass from team captain Gareth Barry.

However, the England Under-21 international was stopped by Pique, who stood his ground to clear the ball for a corner after 54 minutes.

Tevez and Nani tried their luck on the other end, but two minutes later, Villa self-destructed.

Tevez’s former teammate Nigel Reo-Coker was given his marching orders after a needless foul on Anderson.

It was only nine minutes earlier when Reo-Coker was booked for a foul on Tevez.

O’Neill was clearly furious with Styles’ decision, to the point that Styles had to go over on the touchlines to explain the decision to him.

Down to 10 men, Villa still had some fire in them and Osbourne demonstrated just that when fired in a shot that was well held by van der Sar.

But on the other end four minutes later, Villa were down to nine, no thanks to Carson’s needless foul on Tevez, who had been fed a pass by Rooney on a counter attack.

Styles did not hesitate and pointed to the spot, and flashed a yellow card in Young’s face after the player persistently complained about the decision.

Knight had to be sacrificed; Stuart Taylor was then brought in to face his first real test: a Rooney penalty.

Gunning for his hat-trick, the England striker stepped up to take the spotkick – but only for Taylor to dive the right way to push away his shot. The rebound ended up in no man’s land.

After 70 minutes, it was the crossbar which denied Rooney his hat-trick, after playing a first-time shot from Brown’s pass, with Taylor well beaten.

Two minutes later, Taylor came out big again when he blocked Tevez’s goalbound effort, and the latter was subsequently replaced with the just-returned Darren Fletcher.

Giggs then got his reward after agreeing to a contract extension until 2009, when he used his skills and made a fine run into the area past a sea of Villa defenders.

In the packed box, Giggs still managed to let fly a shot, which was deflected into the net by a combo of Laursen and Mellberg.

With victory virtually in the bag, Giggs and Paul Scholes were taken off, with Ronaldo and John O’Shea coming on in their places.

United were then content enough to pass the ball around as in a training exercise, with Villa having half chances in trying to alleviate the humiliation in front of their home fans but coming to naught.

Ronaldo could have added to the scoreline, only for Taylor to deny him twice at the end, but Ferguson would have been a happy man nonetheless with the result, which takes them back to second spot, two points behind Arsenal.

And with his players emerging unscathed from the encounter, Ferguson is now looking forward to Kyiv in midweek.

Team line-up

AV: Carson (gk), Bouma, Mellberg, Laursen, Knight (Taylor, 67′), Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Gardner (Osbourne, 53′), Moore (Maloney, 53′), Agbonlahor

ManU: van der Sar (gk), Evra, Ferdinand, Pique, Brown, Scholes (O’Shea, 77′), Anderson, Giggs (Ronaldo, 77′), Nani, Tevez (Fletcher, 73′), Rooney

DYNAMIC DUO: Manchester United’s Carlos Tevez (left) and Cristiano Ronaldo celebrate after the former had opened the scoring against Wigan Athletic on Saturday. United went on to thump Wigan 4-0, with Ronaldo scoring a brace.

Sir Alex Ferguson needed a cure to Manchester United’s lack of scoring prowess. And he got it.

United produced their finest display this season when they trounced a hapless Wigan Athletic 4-0 at Old Trafford, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a brace.

Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez were on the scoresheet themselves – which took United to the top, at least temporarily.

Even Mike Riley’s somewhat questionable decision not to award a penalty in United’s favour failed to dampen their spirits. Three claims, nothing given.

Wigan’s Chris Kirkland had to be on guard five minutes into the match, when he produced a fine reflex save following a header by his own defender Salomon Olembe.

A half of few chances was then marred by Nemanja Vidic’s premature departure after a clash of heads with Wigan’s Marcus Bent, while John O’Shea followed suit after he appeared to pull a thigh muscle.

Youngsters Anderson and Daniel Simpson came on in their places respectively.

United’s flow seemed disrupted after that, with lacklustre passing and no eye for goal. Wigan’s Josip Skoko nearly made them pay, but saw his piledriver of a shot saved.

United skipper Ryan Giggs tried to spur the team on with a first-time half volley after 33 minutes, but Kirkland saved his shot easily.

Four minutes later, Wigan had arguably the best chance to go in front, but Patrice Evra was alert to the danger when he cleared the ball before Paul Scharner could pull the trigger.

A minute after that saw Kirkland having to be at his best again when Ronaldo fired a shot in and the keeper pushed it out.

That was as close as United came to breaking the deadlock with a subdued first-half performance – despite having seven corners and holding the lion’s share of possession.

But United came on in the second half with a little more purpose, but still took a little while to settle, with Tevez failing to finish off after fine play by Anderson and Rooney two minutes into the second half.

Giggs nearly opened his United account five minutes later, but his left footed strike grazed the crossbar – after substitute Fitz Hall had headed Ronaldo’s cross into his path.

The floodgates opened after that, when Tevez, after latching on to Anderson’s pass, muscled past Wigan leftback Kevin Kilbane, gave the onrushing Kirkland a runaround before finally striking beautifully into the back of the net.

It was Tevez’s second goal of the season following the first one against Chelsea two matches ago.

Wigan’s Jason Koumas then fired a shot which was just wide off the far post, and their lack of gusto in front of goal then punished them.

After 59 minutes, Kirkland was spot on to pushed away Giggs’ wonderful strike, but it was not enough as the ball fell to Ronaldo, who hit a header home from close range.

So Ronaldo had a bad eye after the match against AS Roma, but so what – was the message that he sent out after putting United 2-0 up.

Five minutes later, Ronaldo’s header from a cross by Rooney floated safely into Kirkland’s arms.

Hutchings, realising he needed more firepower upfront, then took of debutant Olembe and brought on Luis Valencia – and he immediately forced Tomasz Kuszczak into a fine one-handed save.

United’s third came after 76 minutes when Pique cut open the Wigan defense with a beautiful pass to Rooney, and the England forward provided a square pass to Ronaldo, who clinically tapped the ball home for his second.

Ronaldo was on the hunt for his hat-trick, but the Portuguese winger could not finish off Anderson’s crossfield pass when he ballooned it over the bar two minutes later.

United almost had their fourth after 80 minutes, if Rooney had connected with Tevez’s whipping pass from the right.

It was to be his last act as Tevez was replaced to loud appreciation from the Old Trafford crowd. Nani came on in his place.

Rooney eventually completed the rout with a textbook header – after the 20-year-old Simpson had provided a nice cross (below).

The goal capped a memorable week for Rooney, who opened his account this season with a winning goal against Roma in the UEFA Champions League in midweek.

If anything, though, United were going to protect their clean sheets – and showed it when the defense was quick to prevent Scharner before he pulled the trigger for the second time in the match.

Wigan were never likely to score, what with having a lone striker in the form of Bent upfront, and they had to be content with an unwanted record of 18 defeats in all 18 meetings with United.

Ferguson had more than one reason to smile after the outcome, with youngsters Pique, Simpson and Anderson really stepping up to the plate when it was needed.

It was also United’s sixth successive match where they have not conceded any goals, and, for the first time this season, reached double figures on their goal tally.

But most important of all would be the fact that United – the REAL United – are back in the picture.

Team line-up

ManU: Kuszczak (gk), Pique, Ferdinand, Vidic (Anderson, 20′), Evra, Scholes, O’Shea (Simpson, 29′), Giggs, Ronaldo, Tevez (Nani, 80′), Rooney

Wigan: Kirkland (gk), Melchiot (Hall, 51′), Bramble, Boyce, Kilbane, Olembe (Valencia, 65′), Brown, Skoko, Scharner, Koumas, Bent

ROONEY NETS HIS FIRST: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney fires his strike into the net for United’s one and only goal in a 1-0 win over AS Roma.

Manchester United ensured victory in a fashion all too similar this season – by grinding out a 1-0 victory over AS Roma in a UEFA Champions League match last night, thanks to a solitary goal by Wayne Rooney.

Considering how evenly contested the match was, there was inclination that there would be no repeat of United’s 7-1 rout over the Romans in last season’s Champions League quarter finals.

In any case, Roma were determined to avenge the humiliating defeat last season. Not surprising that the war of words had begun even before 22 players stepped on the pitch at Old Trafford.

United began without first-choice keeper Edwin van der Sar, who suffered a broken toe in a Premiership match against Birmingham City over the weekend – which meant Tomasz Kuszczak stepped in for his first Champions League appearance this season.

Ryan Giggs and Carlos Tevez also started on the bench, with Sir Alex Ferguson preferring a Rooney and Louis Saha combination instead.

As for Roma, they began with Francesco Totti and Simone Perrotta upfront – both of whom have already scored this season.

United made clear their intentions as early as the second minute when Cristiano Ronaldo bolted down the right and whipped in a cross which was, unfortunately, missed by every red shirt in the box.

The same thing occurred two minutes later when Saha placed a cross into the area.

Kuszczak faced his first real test after seven minutes when he dealt with Totti’s trademark drive – and likewise five minutes later.

On the other end, Roma keeper Gianluca Curci tipped away Nani’s cross, and also manages to hold Saha’s stinging shot moments later.

It was fast becoming a battle of which keeper will break first, when Kuszczak was tested with a Totti freekick after the Italian was fouled by Paul Scholes.

Curci was again tested – this time by Ronaldo from another of his freekicks.

United’s best chance came almost immediately after that – but Rooney, upon receiving a beautiful cross from Ronaldo, somehow managed to blast the ball over the top when in plenty of space.

Kuszczak subsequently palmed out another Totti freekick – after Curci himself had had to deal with Nani’s corner on the other end.

The half ended in a deadlock, but United again made a blistering start after the break when Ronaldo was again down the flank and crossing balls.

Roma then had their best chance when Totti misplaced his shot after Ludovic Giuly had played in a nice pass to him.

Nani then had a momentary lapse in concentration when he carelessly gave the ball away in his own half, but midfielder Alberto Aquilani could only strike the ball wide.

Nani was really making his presence felt when he, again, through his lofted crosses, rattled – literally – Curci’s bar before harmlessly floating out after 55 minutes.

Aquilani was to have no part to play in the match moments later when he seemed to pull a muscle and will now be out for two months. David Pizarro came on in his place.

Six minutes later, Rooney showed his prowess when, upon picking up Patrice Evra’s pass, stepped inside and placed a shot that was just deflected wide.

After 69 minutes, United would have been in front when Ronaldo put the ball in the back of the net – only for the referee to rule it out for offside.

But United were not to be denied a minute later, when Rooney drove the ball beyond Curci, catching the inside of the post before going in.

This was after Michael Carrick and Nani had combined for a perfect build-up – and not forgetting the presence of Tevez, who sparked United to life after replacing Saha.

Rooney reeled off and punched the air in utter jubilation – clearly so after his season was marred with a season-opening injury that ruled him out for six weeks.

Tevez was looking to score his first Champions League goal on his debut, and looked to be doing so after skipping past Daniele de Rossi.

But the Argentine was instead looking to the skies after the ball went agonisingly wide off the far post.

United quickly switched to defense mode even as Roma tried to restore parity on a not-so-happy hunting ground.

While they were at that, Tevez was giving the Roma defensive midfielders a really tormenting time as he tried to steal the ball from the players.

Scholes, amidst all the pandemonium, managed a shot when his trademark drive from outside the area just went wide.

A flurry of substitutions followed, and Roma were nearly rewarded for their relentless effort – but Pizarro and substitute Mauro Esposito were guilty of stringing too many passes yet missing the goal.

Six minutes from time, Rooney was replaced by Anderson – but not before being given applause from the appreciative Old Trafford crowd.

United had a momentary scare two minutes later, when Ronaldo was left with a bleeding forehead after a clash with Roma substitute Mirko Vucinic.

With all three substitutes used up, United had to play the remaining minutes of the match without their star player.

Esposito was again guilty of not scoring after Totti and Vucinic had paired up brilliantly to set Esposito up.

At the end, it was a question of who took their chances – and who didn’t. United had the results to show for it.

Team line-up

ManU: Kuszczak (gk), Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, O’Shea, Scholes, Carrick, Nani (Giggs, 79′), Ronaldo, Rooney (Anderson, 84′), Saha (Tevez, 66′)

Roma: Curci (gk), Tonetto, Juan, Mexes, Cicinho, de Rossi, Aquilani (Pizarro, 61′), Mancini (Vucinic, 73′), Giuly (Esposito, 80′), Perrotta, Totti