Legends: Man. United 1 Real Madrid 2 (Aggregate: 3 - 5)

Manchester United's Legends were beaten 2-1 by their Real Madrid counterparts with the Red Heart United charity day proving a great success.

A crowd of over 60,000 turned out to see some of the greats of the game grace Old Trafford again following a spectacular concert headlined by JLS. Ruud van Nistelrooy, who represented both teams, lifted the noise levels when equalising Fernando Morientes' opener. After Dwight Yorke hit the bar, Ruben de la Red netted seconds later to ensure the Spanish side not only won on aggregate, 5-3, but also on the afternoon itself.

Zinedine Zidane received a respectful reception but mistimed an early flick and was beaten by a nice piece of skill from Paul Scholes that delighted the crowd. The midfield pass masters were heavily involved in the opening exchanges as Dwight Yorke was unable to profit from a defence-splitting ball by Scholes before Zidane forced Edwin van der Sar to tip over a volley from Michel Salgado's centre.

Henning Berg's afternoon ended after only nine minutes as he was forced off by injury with Lee Martin taking his place at right-back. Real continued to make in-roads to van der Sar's goal but Ivan Helguera headed badly wide and Luis Figo's strike was well held by the Dutch keeper.

Jaap Stam, as imposing as ever, drew cheers by outmuscling Zidane on one occasion but the Frenchman remained the most influential player on the pitch, skewing a volley well off target but then releasing van Nistelrooy. The ex-Holland hitman rode a lunge by Stam that surely would have resulted in a penalty but found another of his countrymen, van der Sar, was out quickly to block.

Van Nistelrooy's dangerous cross was met by a vital interception by the tidy Denis Irwin and Figo drilled wide as the visitors dictated much of the play. Quinton Fortune fired a free-kick over the bar but it was a rare attempt by the Reds with only van der Sar keeping his team on level terms.

The veteran keeper was out quickly to thwart Morientes and made two splendid diving saves to frustrate van Nistelrooy to prove he has lost none of his athleticism. Ronny Johnsen was fortunate not to concede a penalty after a tangle with Salgado before Morientes finally broke the deadlock, shortly after going close with a prodded effort. With six minutes of the first half remaining, the former Liverpool centre-forward collected a pass from Claude Makelele and unleashed a shot from the edge of the box, as he was closed down, that found the bottom corner of the net.

Van Nistelrooy switched sides at the interval and United instantly posed more of a threat with Yorke claiming a penalty after a tussle with Fernando Hierro. However, Johnsen was forced to make a superb, if painful, block on Ruben de la Red and the Real substitute also forced another stop out of van der Sar.

Morientes spurned a glorious opportunity to double his and Madrid's tally when delaying his finish after being picked out by Figo but clipping wide of an inviting target. Another break with the hosts stretched saw Figo test van der Sar with a bending drive and the Dutch keeper was equal to the task in stunning fashion.

Yet United did at least now look capable of getting on the scoresheet, thanks largely to van Nistelrooy's presence. The prolific striker dived to head off target when Pedro Contreras appealed unsuccessfully for a foul by Andy Cole after an Irwin corner came off Jose Amavisca. Following an inch-perfect pass by Scholes, van Nistelrooy then rolled a shot just wide with the Reds' best effort of the game at that point.

More was to come from the ex-Hamburg forward who was really coming to the fore. Latching onto a pass down the right by Yorke, he rampaged into the box and smashed a shot high into the net past Carlos Sanchez to bring the house down. Back on level terms on the day, only an acrobatic tip-over by Sanchez kept out Cole's stooping header after another burst by van Nistelrooy.

Yorke's volley was comfortably kept out by Sanchez before the ex-Aston Villa forward came agonisingly close to levelling the aggregate scores. Picking up on a Sanchez punch to Martin's cross, he lofted his effort over the defenders on the line but against the underside of the bar.

It proved a pivotal moment as Real swiftly attacked at the other end and Morientes' disguised pass let in de la Red, who craftily chipped substitute keeper Raimond van der Gouw to wrap up a 5-3 aggregate success. De la Red also wasted a golden opportunity in the dying seconds. However, the result was not of great importance with a bumper crowd raising over £800,000 for a very worthy cause and enjoying the action.

United: Van der Sar (van der Gouw 70); Berg (Martin 9), Stam, Johnsen, Irwin; Blackmore (van Nistelrooy 46), Fortune, Scholes, Sharpe (Thornley 51, Blomqvist 87); Yorke, Cole.

Real Madrid: Contreras (Sanchez 62); Salgado (Pavon 69), Helguera, Pavon (McManaman 46), Amavisca; Figo (Vazquez 78), Hierro, Makelele (Sanz 62), Zidane; Morientes, van Nistelrooy (De la Red 46).