OLD TRAFFORD has witnessed Champions League heroics, Premier League titles and countless trophy parades but it saved its loudest roar for last night when Wayne Rooney’s injury time goal sent Alex Ferguson’s side to the much-maligned Carling Cup final, bursting Manchester City’s expensively assembled bubble.

CARLOS TEVEZ had what must be the final word – for now – in the debate that followed his transfer across Manchester this summer when his two goals earned City a slender first leg advantage in their Carling Cup semi-final with United, a result that gives his club a “51 per cent” chance of reaching the Final.

EVERY form guide suggests that AC Milan’s 2-0 lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with city rivals Inter should be enough to see the Italian champions through to the last four.