David Beckham had been expected to start the game, which marked his club return to Old Trafford following a move to Real Madrid 7 years ago, but was left on the bench for the crucial fixture.

England star Wayne Rooney scored in the first minutes of each half to put the game beyond AC Milan, before Park added a third goal mid-way through the second half.

It was at this stage when David Beckham finally made an appearance on the Old Trafford turf, much to the delight of the 75,000 United fans. His impact was instant, forcing a reaction save from Edwin Van Der Sar.

Manchester United could now face Chelsea or Arsenal in the Quarter-Final of the competition. The draw will be made on Friday. Following Wednesday nights comfortable victory over the Italians, Manchester United were quickly shortened to 4/1 to lift the Champions League trophy, while Barcelona remained solid favourites – as short as 11/4 with William Hill.

The final of the Champions League will take place 3 weeks prior to the World Cup, at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium.

After crashing out of the Champions League in November, The Reds have had their worst start to a season in over a decade and manager Rafa Benitez finds himself 6/5 not to last till the end of the season at Sky Bet. The same odds are offered by William Hill for the “big four” to finish in the top 4 spots come the end of the season.

Liverpool host Arsenal on Sunday in the big game of the weekend and nothing less than 3 points will satisfy the disgruntled Merseysiders who frequent Anfield.