These two sides locked horns at Old Trafford last season, and the scoreline was a staggering 7-1 to United.

But it took until the 70th minute for the deadlock to be broken this time, with Rooney latching on to Nani's clever throughball and steering a right-footed angled drive in off the upright for the game's only goal.

A defeat was arguably harsh on the Italians, who posed plenty of problems, with Francesco Totti the biggest threat, drawing a fine first-half save from Tomasz Kuszczak and lifting a chip just over the bar on 49 minutes.

Nani was the star man for United, setting up a Rooney half-volley and clipping the crossbar with a deft dink on 55.

Michael Carrick and sub Carlos Tevez weren't far off with long-range efforts, and Cristiano Ronaldo had an audacious back-heel ruled out for offside.

But after Mauro Esposito's drive whistled narrowly wide of the post late on, the hosts closed out their second consecutive win in Group F.

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