The game turned on referee Mike Dean's decision to send off Birmingham's 'keeper Maik Taylor for bringing down Paul Scholes as he charged towards goal 34 minutes in. Ruud van Nistelrooy slotted home the penalty, and Birmingham were left to chase the game with 10-men.

Sir Alex Ferguson made 2 changes from the side that put in United's poorest performance of the season in their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Stuttgart, with Quinton Fortune and youngster Darren Fletcher being named amongst the starting line-up.

Before the decisive penalty, United had failed to create many chances to worry Steve Bruce's side despite having the lion share of possession. Birmingham came into the game with the best defensive record in the Premiership, and their game plan of sitting back and defending had the Red Devils frustrated.

The game took a dramatic turn though with 11 minutes left of the opening half. Paul Scholes latched onto an excellent through ball from Ruud Van Nistelrooy and the English international was brought down by Taylor as he tried to turn past him. The rules of the game left Mike Dean with no choice other than to send off the Birmingham 'keeper and award the penalty to United.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy proved that his penalty blip is well and truly over by scoring his second penalty in consecutive games by sending reserve 'keeper Ian Bennett the wrong way, and the visitors were left by the unenviable task of trying to turn around the score with 10-men at Old Trafford.

Birmingham's game plan was shot to pieces, but they manage to withhold a late surge of United pressure in the first-half and went in at half-time only one goal down.

Half Time - Manchester United 1-0 Birmingham City

Birmingham came out for the second-half obviously looking to throw caution to wind in the opening minutes and get a quick equaliser, and they certainly had the home side under a fair bit of pressure. Jamie Clapham forced Tim Howard into a save early on in the half, and Clemence also went close as the Blues started to attack in numbers.

United upped the tempo of their game, and began to take control again as Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs both had chances to double the lead, but it was Paul Scholes who scored the second to take the game beyond Birmingham. The 28-year-old flicked the ball up before smashing it home, leaving Bennett with no chance.

United played out the rest of the game with comparative ease, and with eight minutes to go Ryan Giggs made it 3. The Welsh winger when he calmly pushed the ball past Bennett to complete a good afternoon for the Champions.

The remainder of the game was, to be honest, rather boring. It was far more entertaining watching the Birmingham fans have what looked like brawls with police in the away end. I think they were unhappy at not being allowed to leave early, but fortunately they seemed to filter out of the ground at the final whistle with no problems.

Full Time - Manchester United 3-0 Birmingham City

Birmingham City: Taylor, Johnson, Upson, Cunningham, Clapham, Dunn, Cisse, Clemence (Tebily 79), Lazaridis (Bennett 35), Dugarry (Carter 66), Forssell.
Subs Not Used: John, Morrison.

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