Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a clinical 2-0 win at AS Roma yesterday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Portugal forward Ronaldo soared inside the area six minutes before the break to head home a Paul Scholes cross after Rooney had skipped away from Philippe Mexes.

Rooney then poked home the second goal himself in the 66th minute after a header from South Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park sparked a goalmouth scramble.

"It's a very good performance," Ronaldo told ITV. "Everyone knows it's a tough game. Roma played very well, but we created a few chances. I think we deserved this win."

United manager Alex Ferguson added that the victory was far from comfortable, saying: "It's a very good team we played against of course. We had to defend really well at times."

Roma had nothing to show for some fluid football and have a massive task in next Wednesday's return at Old Trafford, where they lost 7-1 at the same stage of the competition last season.

"It is clear that when we conceded the second goal I wasn't happy but it was the only thing I wasn't happy with," Roma coach Luciano Spalletti told Sky Italia.

"In my opinion we have played the game we had to play. The first 20 minutes of the second half we deserved more."