[2] His assistants for the match were Shaun Procter-Green from Lincolnshire and David Richardson from West Yorkshire, with Lee Mason from Lancashire acting as fourth official.

[16] The players and officials then emerged from the tunnel and lined up along a red carpet, accompanied by their team mascots; Manchester United's mascot was seven-year-old Charlie Simpson, selected for his fund-raising efforts in aid of the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, while Aston Villa were led out by six-year-old Ben Clay, whose identical twin Oliver has cerebral palsy and attends a hospice run by Acorns Children's Hospice, whose logo Aston Villa wore on their shirts.

The teams were then presented to the day's guests of honour: Brian Mawhinney, chairman of The Football League, and Martin Thomas, the Supply Chain Director of Molson Coors (UK), who own the Carling brand.

Defender James Collins and forward Emile Heskey were both rested for Villa's FA Cup fifth round replay against Crystal Palace on 24 February.

[21] Defender Rio Ferdinand had been expected to play in the match following a four-match suspension for an incident against Hull City, but he suffered a recurrence of a back problem that had kept him out of contention for three months earlier in the season.

The biggest surprise in the teams selected by both managers was Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to leave in-form striker Wayne Rooney on the bench, opting instead to partner Michael Owen with Dimitar Berbatov up front and play four in midfield.

[27] Milner had a chance to double his tally and restore his side's lead four minutes later with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, but Kuszczak kept the scores level with a diving, two-handed save.

[27] As the first half drew to a close, Owen pulled up with a hamstring injury as he chased down a ball into the Aston Villa penalty area; Wayne Rooney came on to replace him in the 41st minute.

[27] Park Ji-sung almost gave Manchester United the lead in injury time at the end of the first half, as James Collins' attempted clearance from Antonio Valencia's cross fell to him just inside the penalty area, but his shot hit the post.

[27] Michael Carrick had the first significant chance of the second half in the 49th minute, when he forced Friedel into a low, diving save after making space for himself with a neat turn on the edge of the box.

[27] Dunne had a chance to equalise in the dying minutes as Downing chipped a cross to the far post, but he didn't make good enough contact on his header and it went harmlessly wide.