Manchester United held on to quell a spirited second half comeback by Manchester City as they knocked the holders out of the FA Cup with a 3-2 third round win at Eastlands here on Sunday.
United, who brought 37-year-old midfielder Paul Scholes out of retirement as a second half substitute, seemed to be in control at the home of their local rivals after two first half goals from Wayne Rooney, another from Danny Welbeck, and the controversial sending off of City captain Vincent Kompany.
But Premier League leaders City responded with an early second half goal from Aleksandar Kolarov and, after Sergio Aguero struck with nearly half an hour remaining, the Blues appeared on the brink of a remarkable fightback.
Indeed, Kolarov nearly forced a replay in stoppage time when a stinging free-kick, from the edge of the area, was only parried by United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard before being scrambled to safety.
Ultimately, the tie was decided inside an explosive opening 12 minutes, during which United took the lead and City were reduced to 10 men following Kompany's dismissal.
To make matters worse for City, they had enjoyed a commanding opening spell before the visitors scored with their first foray into the home half, a move started by Ryan Giggs's pass to Rooney.
The forward fed Antonio Valencia wide on the right before moving into the area and meeting the winger's cross with a spectacular header which went in via the underside of the bar.
And within two minutes City were left with even more of a mountain to climb after referee Chris Foy deemed Kompany's two-footed, sliding challenge on Nani warranted a red card. It appeared a harsh decision, given that the City defender won the ball without making contact on his opponent and Nani did not even appeal for the foul.
On the half hour, United seemed to have taken a stranglehold on proceedings when Welbeck doubled the lead. Nani played an intelligent ball to the over-lapping Patrice Evra whose low cross eluded Welbeck only for Samir Nasri to inadvertently help it back into the path of the United forward who volleyed home spectacularly.