Report: United 1 Roma 0

Seconds later Hargreaves was involved again. His cross looked to have eluded everyone but the ball found its way to Anderson on the edge of the box who hit it first time. Doni was equal to the task, claiming well just as Tevez and Giggs looked set to pounce.

The main talking point of the opening half arrived on 29 minutes when Roma were awarded a spot-kick. Van der Sar punched Vucinic’s initial effort clear but the ball dropped to Mancini, who burst into the area only to be felled by Wes Brown. The referee had no qualms in pointing to the spot and although Brown appeared to get a touch on the ball, he also clipped Mancini’s back leg.

As De Rossi stepped up to take the penalty, a chorus of boos reverberated around Old Trafford. That quickly turned to hysterical cheers as the Italian blasted over. De Rossi’s immediate reaction was to pull his jersey over his head as he attempted to hide from the now raucous United fans. Had De Rossi's miss put an end to the Italians' chances of getting back into the tie?

United tightened things up towards the end of the first period, apparently content with maintaining the advantage. The added protection in front of the back four also coincided with an injury to Rio Ferdinand. Thankfully, the defender reappeared after the break despite having three stitches at the interval.

With the quarter-final tie entering its last stage, Roma had the clock to worry about too. The visitors enjoyed the lion's share of possession for the first 15 minutes of the second period and Mikael Silvestre was forced to make a