MANCHESTER - Wayne Rooney belted home his first goal of a frustrating season to drive Manchester United into pole position in their bid to reach the Champions League knock-out phase.
There may have been no repeat of the epic magnificent seven the last time they met Roma but United's latest victory over the Italians will be cherished almost as much.
Certainly Rooney will be looking back on the night's events with satisfaction as he finally made an impact on behalf of a misfiring United strikeforce, finishing neatly from Nani's lay-off and, with one flash of his right foot, silencing the growing question marks over his form.
'One-nil to the champions' may be a refrain more associated with Arsenal than United but this was their sixth such success of the campaign so far and, with maximum points from the opening two games in Group F, leaves Sir Alex Ferguson's men knowing four points from their double-header with Dynamo Kiev will take them through with two games to spare.
They had to survive two late scares though as Simone Perrotta and Mauro Esposito - at a time when United had been reduced to 10 men because of Cristiano Ronaldo's departure with a badly cut head after Ferguson had used his three allotted substitutes - both missed gilt-edged chances.
Perhaps the most unsurprising aspect of the night was no repeat of the stunning events that unfolded when the two sides last met here in April.
By the 20-minute mark on that famous night, United were already three goals up and on their way to an eventual semi-final defeat against AC Milan.
Indeed, by the same point this time around there had barely been three shots as both sides exhibited a greater degree of caution even if neither could be described as timid.
Roma, with their skipper Francesco Totti to the fore, as well as fleet-footed Brazilian winger Mancini were actually the better side early on.
On his European debut, Tomasz Kuszczak made low saves to deny both men, although on the second occasion an incorrect offside flag had been raised against Mancini, who had been set free by Cicinho's superb pass behind John O'Shea.
Having left both Carlos Tevez and Ryan Giggs on the bench, big performances were expected of their replacements Louis Saha and Nani.
Saha was effective, stretching the Roma defence with his direct style but it was Nani who impressed more, the opening period representing the teenager's best efforts since completing his £17million summer move from Sporting Lisbon.
The Portugal winger produced three excellent crosses which should have brought United at least one goal.
Ronaldo nodded the first over and Roma keeper Gianluca Curci unconvincingly pawed the second away from O'Shea, a replacement for the injured Wes Brown.
Nani's third effort was the best, a far post ball which dropped perfectly for an unmarked Rooney.
It was the type of opportunity Rooney is perfectly capable of smashing into the top corner. This time he merely volleyed it over, which did not improve his temper much.
At times, the young Merseysider did not seem entirely happy with his lot. His reaction to a few quiet words of advice on the touchline from United assistant-manager Carlos Queiroz was not especially positive and Ronaldo's dominance of the home side's free-kicks was another irritation.
It has to be said, Ronaldo is becoming somewhat Roberto Carlos-esque; his high failure rate being obscured by the occasional memorable success.
After drilling one such shot into the Roma wall, Ronaldo had a second attempt, from 35 yards, which Curci did well to cling onto as it dipped right in front of him.
Nani's eye-catching evening continued with a cross that spun off the top of Roma's crossbar, although when he stepped inside Cicinho just after the hour mark, then curled the ball beyond four expectant team-mates, he could only scream at the sky in anguish.
Mancini was doing the same not long afterwards when he was barged over in the box by Michael Carrick, only for Spanish referee Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez to wave away the penalty protests.
It proved to be a pivotal decision as Rooney was about to strike.
Fittingly, Nani provided the assist with a disguised through ball which made the most of excellent approach work from Ronaldo and Carrick.
The finish was a gem, Rooney's shot bouncing off the inside of Curci's right-hand post, the striker having unleashed a first-time shot just out of the Roma keeper's reach.
It proved enough to win, and finally bring a smile to Rooney's face, although he would not have been laughing much had Perrotta and Esposito not been so wasteful at the end.
