a header past Roma keeper Doni. Buoyed by the cushion of the away goal, United started the second half confidently, prising a desperate Roma side apart with crisp passing along the floor. On the hour mark, in response to a header on goal by Mirko Vučinić that brought about a world class save from Edwin van der Sar, Alex Ferguson called for his team to adopt a more conservative formation, bringing on Owen Hargreaves to replace Anderson. United seemed more comfortable playing in a 4–4–2 formation, and the change paid immediate dividends, as Rooney pounced on Doni's mishandling of Park's header to poke the ball home for 2–0. The Reds continued to threaten, but were forced to defend well to prevent Roma from taking any goals with them to Old Trafford. The match finished 2–0, putting United in a comfortable position going into the second leg on 9 April. United went into the second leg with a couple of injury concerns in the centre of their defence. Nemanja Vidić was still carrying an injury from the first leg, while Rio Ferdinand had a suspected foot injury that he picked up in the Reds' match against Middlesbrough at the weekend. Nevertheless, Ferdinand was deemed to be fit enough to start the match, and lined up alongside Gerard Piqué in the centre of defence. Mikaël Silvestre also found a place in the starting lineup, making his first start for nearly seven months, following a knee ligament injury, and Gary Neville also made a return to the first team squad, being selected on the bench. Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were left on the bench, as Alex Ferguson obviously had an eye on the following weekend's match against Arsenal. Manchester United started the match brightly, creating numerous opportunities in the first few minutes. However, on the half-hour, the referee Tom Henning Øvrebø awarded the visiting side a penalty for a trip on Mancini by Wes Brown, which Daniele De Rossi stepped up to take. Live action replays however showed no contact between Brown and Mancini. The Italian midfielder blazed the ball over the crossbar, wasting what would end up being Roma's best chance of getting back into the tie. Roma started the second half strongly, creating a couple of chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half, including a Rodrigo Taddei effort that forced a last-ditch block from