Though Aalborg secured a highly impress draw at Parkhead two weeks ago, they're widely regarded as one of the competition's minnows this season and United were expected to cruise to victory.

The holders duly obliged with two fine strikes from Berbatov the highlight.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring on 22 minutes as he finished a neat pass from Giggs - himself on as a substitute for the injured Scholes.

Berbatov doubled the advantage on 55 minutes with a superb finish as he took advantage of a defensive blunder from Thomas Augustinussen. The £30million striker then made sure of the points with another emphatic finish with eleven minutes left.

The headlines, however, have been taken by a serious ligament injury picked up by Scholes. He came off badly in a challenge with Augustinussen and now faces a ten-week spell on the sidelines. Rooney also took a knock and, though much less serious, is a doubt for Saturday's trip to Ewood Park.

This was an excellent win for United with Bruce Rioch's men outclassed throughout. Scholes' injury cast a shadow over the performance but Sir Alex Ferguson will be delighted with Berbatov's superbly-taken goals and a promising European debut from young Rafael Da Silva.

Full Time - Aalborg 0-3 Manchester United
Attendance - 10,346

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