• Champions League

Rooney left out of Man United starting XI

ESPN staff
March 5, 2013
Ryan Giggs starts, but Wayne Rooney doesn't © Getty Images
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Sir Alex Ferguson sprung a shock in his Manchester United starting XI for the visit of Real Madrid, leaving Wayne Rooney out of his line-up.

Ferguson handed a start to veteran Ryan Giggs, who will play his 1,000th competitive game for club and country as United bid for a place in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Holding a slight advantage from the first leg, United's 1-1 draw in the Bernabeu means Madrid must score on Tuesday night. Ferguson has Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of his defence to prevent that from happening.

There is no place for Shinji Kagawa, scorer of a hat-trick in the recent league game against Norwich, while Rooney will have to make his impact from the bench.

Jose Mourinho's line-up is entirely predictable, with Cristiano Ronaldo one of several big names restored to the team after their win over Barcelona. Gonzalo Higuain gets the nod over Karim Benzema up front.

Man Utd team: De Gea Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley, Nani, Welbeck, Giggs, Van Persie

Real Madrid team: Lopez, Arbeloa, Varane, Ramos, Coentrao, Alonso, Khedira, Di Maria, Ozil, Ronaldo, Higuain

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