Second half strikes by Manchester United’s front two of Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney were enough to see off Blackburn after an, at times, attritional struggle at Old Trafford.

Rovers, whose playing and management roster were affected by a reported swine flu outbreak during the week, came to the home of the champions determined not to suffer the humiliation of their heavy recent defeats at Arsenal and Chelsea.

And they succeeded, without ever threatening to take anything from the game once United broke through shortly after half-time.

They were, however, wrongly denied a goal as the game entered four minutes stoppage time, which might have stirred an unlikely comeback against a United side still a distance from prime form.

United created next to nothing for half an hour until Blackburn Rovers keeper Paul Robinson tipped over a downward header from Berbatov.

The Bulgarian came close twice more before the break, forcing Robinson to turn away a 20-yard shot with his left-hand and then having the ball in the net from Wayne Rooney’s cross only for an assistant to correctly flag Rooney offside.

Nine minutes into the second half, United got a lucky break when Patrice Evra’s mishit shot fell to Dimitar Berbatov and he turned and lashed the ball into the net in one movement past an unsighted Robinson.

The floodgates steadfastly refused to open, however, as Rovers maintained their defensive vigilance.

And the second goal did not arrive until three minutes from time, Rooney applying a sublime left-foot finish to Anderson’s low cross from the left.

The current United side would have had stoppage time jitters had Nikola Kalinic not been erroneously ruled offside when he tucked home the rebound after the previously unemployed Edwin Van der Sar had saved Benni McCarthy’s fierce drive.

But there were to be no stoppage time dramatics at Old Trafford on this occasion.