Manchester United 1 Middlesbrough 0 - report

Ruud van Nistelrooy provided Manchester United skipper Roy Keane with the perfect post-operation present by ramming home the match-winning penalty at Old Trafford tonight.

But while the controversial Irishman begins his three-month road to recovery, the relationship between England’s biggest club and their national team is also requiring some attention.

For, after being told influential midfielder Paul Scholes would not have recovered from an ankle injury in time to be considered for Saturday’s friendly with Portugal, Sven-Goran Eriksson turned up to see someone bearing a remarkable resemblance to the flame-haired assassin filling Keane’s not inconsiderable boots for all but 11 minutes of a disappointing contest.

If that was not enough, Eriksson also had to watch his skipper David Beckham jog off in the final minute with definite signs of a limp.

That will matter little to Alex Ferguson though, who saw his team end Middlesbrough’s unbeaten start to the season and join main title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool on eight points without ever hitting the heights of previous outings.

Van Nistelrooy had not opened his Premiership account for the season when he stepped up to face Mark Schwarzer after Ugo Ehiogu had dragged him back in the area.

But the Dutchman retained an air of confidence as he stepped up to smash the winner into the roof of the net.

As the teams emerged before kick-off, the home fans did not know whether to salute returning heroes or absent friends.

However, for all the delight at seeing Fabien Barthez, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt pull on the red shirt again, it was to their captain the hordes paid homage.

Over the past three months, Keane has walked out, returned to, rowed with and stormed from the Irish World Cup camp.

He has re-opened old wounds with Alfie Haaland, attacked Jack Charlton and Mick McCarthy in print, faced the possibility of Football Association action with a phlegmatic ‘I don’t care’ shrug and finally got himself sent off for elbowing Jason McAteer in the head at Sunderland.

In his programme notes, manager Ferguson stressed the need to ‘stand together’ and nothing emphasised the point more than the cries of ‘there’s only one Keano’ which rang round the ground before kick-off.

There was little else to cheer for a while as Middlesbrough, seeking their third successive win over Ferguson’s men for former Red Devils number two Steve McClaren, succeeded in thwarting the home side’s best efforts while producing little invention of their own.

It was 25 minutes before United fashioned their first real chance, Ryan Giggs - overlooked for the vacant skipper’s job – driving at Ehiogu before sending a left-foot shot flashing past Schwarzer’s left-hand post.

On their next attack, the home side went ahead. Television replays showed Mike Riley’s penalty award to be somewhat harsh but having decided to give the spot kick, it is difficult to see how Ehiogu escaped with just a yellow card.

Like Scholes, Barthez had not been predicted to return for another week at least.

The French keeper has been struggling with a hip problem picked up in pre-season but showed plenty of agility diving at the feet of Joseph Desire Job, Boro’s matchwinner against Blackburn on Saturday, after Italian youngster Massimo Maccarone had provided a neat return pass.

Jeered by his own supporters on his introduction at the weekend, Job had been restored to the starting line-up in the absence of injury victim Alen Boksic, match-winner in the corresponding fixture last term.

However, like his manager on the touchline, Job became increasingly frustrated as the game wore on, Boro unable to hold possession long enough to inflict any damage on the home defence.

In fact, the nearest they came to levelling before the break was through Robbie Stockdale’s wicked inswinging cross, which evaded team-mates and opponents alike as it sped into the area, Barthez somehow blocking before Laurent Blanc tidied up with predictable calmness.

Giggs had decent chances to double the home lead either side of the interval, firing wide from the edge of the area in the final minute of the opening period before failing to capitalise on Scholes’ brilliant approach work just past the hour.

Maccarone’s inexperience was exposed when he blazed wide from a good position after Job had out-muscled the home defence.

The Italian departed shortly afterwards, as van Nistelrooy had done moments earlier, and Middlesbrough almost took advantage with a piece of opportunism from George Boateng.

Sensing Giggs was dallying as he waited to collect a ball played out of defence, the Dutch international strode forward, intercepted, then drove in a shot which Barthez unconvincingly fumbled round his post.

Middlesbrough blustered on and Job came close near the end, but an equaliser never looked a realistic possibility even if United were just as unlikely to extend their lead.