Sir Alex Ferguson thought Wayne Rooney produced a world-class performance against Manchester City on Wednesday as Manchester United secured their place in the Carling Cup Final.

United face Aston Villa at Wembley next month after beating City 3-1 at Old Trafford in an enthralling semi-final second leg clash to seal a 4-3 aggregate success.

Rooney, who had scored all four goals in Saturday's 4-0 Premier League win against Hull City, headed home in second-half stoppage-time to ensure there would be no extra-time.

A thrilled Ferguson said after the game:"I thought Rooney was much better today than he was on Saturday and yet he scored four goals on Saturday.

"His control, leading of the line and penetration was absolutely fantastic. It was a true world-class performance.

"It's a derby game and you like to win your derby games. The atmosphere tonight, and the fact it was a semi-final tie, added a lot of spice to the match. And the fact we scored so late in the game brought a special type of celebration.

"Nothing really happened in the first half. They sat very deep. What we said at half-time was to keep playing our football and keep spreading our play.

"I'm proud of the team. I also must pay tribute to our support. They were unbelievable."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email