Man United lift the Carling Cup!

Wayne Rooney's superb second-half goal won the Carling Cup final for Manchester United as they beat Aston Villa 2-1 at Wembley.

After starting as a substitute, Rooney was only on the pitch because of an injury to Michael Owen, who had levelled James Milner's fourth-minute penalty.

He was not going to let that inconvenience stop him becoming the Wembley match-winner against Aston Villa though.

And 16 minutes from time, Rooney got on the end of Antonio Valencia's cross and looped home yet another headed goal - his fifth in a row - to take his goal tally for the season to 28 and allow United to retain the trophy after a thrilling Wembley encounter Sir Alex Ferguson feared was not possible.

Carling Cup Final: Devils vs Villans

Manchester United vs Aston Villa in the 2010 Carling Cup Final. What will be the colour of the ribbons on the trophy?

Sir Alex Ferguson will seek to add another piece of silverware to an already bulging trophy cabinet while Martin O'Neill will attempt to outsmart the United tactician.

Both managers will rely on their key players to deliver the knockout blow at Wembley with James Milner the likely Villan star and who else but Wayne Rooney on the opposite end.

With so many English stars on show, Frank Malley is adamant that this will do English football a world of good.

Villa trio of Carlos Cuellar, Richard Dunne and Stiliyan Petrov are all ready to turn the tables on their more experienced rivals to ensure that Ferguson cannot add to his impressive trophy-haul.

Tension is building up towards the big match as fans from the two clubs clash in the heated debate as to who will be hoisting up the first trophy in English football this season.

Finally, we relieve the road to Wembley for both teams. The Villans tore Blackburn Rovers apart in the semi-finals with a 7-4 aggregate while United stamped their authority over their cross-town rivals, Manchester City to progress into the final.

If all that is not enough to whet your appetite for Sunday's showdown, we take it up a notch with some retro classics with five of the best League Cup Finals.