Rooney inspires United to victory

Trailing at the break as their defensive frailties finally caught up with them, there appeared to be no way back for a United side playing second fiddle to brilliant Brazilian Kaka.

But amid the debate over who is currently the world's best between Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo, England's young genius forced himself back onto centre stage, driving the Red Devils level when he darted onto Paul Scholes inspired pass before drilling home a superb injury-time effort after Ryan Giggs had led a late charge forward.

Ronaldo rose to meet Ryan Giggs' corner on four minutes, and saw his firm header strike Milan keeper Dida in the shoulder, then, as Gabriel Heinze closed in on a looping ball that might have been dropping over the line anyway, Dida pushed it in.

The equaliser came when Clarence Seedorf spotted Kaka's determined run and slid a perfect pass into the Brazilian's feet which allowed him to gain a precious half-yard on Heinze and flick his shot into the far corner.

The coolness of that effort was repeated 15 minutes later when a catastrophic collision between Heinze and Patrice Evra offered Kaka a free run on the United goal which ended with an emphatic finish.

United's second-half salvage operation should have begun perfectly when Giggs' corner fell to an unmarked Michael Carrick at the far post. Twice a scorer against Roma, the former Tottenham man could only hold his head in his hands as he missed.

With Milan's intricate passing truly magnificent, it seemed only a matter of time before Kaka would complete his hat-trick and seal the tie.

Yet even in this ravaged state, United are still capable of sublime moments of skill and Scholes promptly produced one, lofting a pass over the Milan defence from a standing position which invited Rooney's fierce finish.

Dida then pushed away a piledriver from the outstanding Fletcher, and Ryan Giggs twice went close. It seemed they would have to settle for a draw - but Milan reckoned without Rooney.