Ince had the good grace to admit Blackburn were well beaten by the Red Devils, for whom Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Anderson were outstanding, however he was left frustrated at how the Red Devils got their lead.

Attempting to reach Wayne Rooney's cross, Rovers goalkeeper Jason Brown clashed with Nemanja Vidic and fell to the ground as Wes Brown nodded the ball into an empty net.

"It was disappointing," said Ince, of referee Steve Bennett's decision not to award a foul.

"I am not saying we would have won but you never know. We were still in the game at 0-0 when it happened.

"We get all this advice saying the referees are fitter than they have ever been and yet he can't see Vidic put an elbow in my keeper's throat. It was a diabolical decision by the referee."

Sir Alex Ferguson understandably did not share Ince's opinion.

While the United boss admitted he had not seen the incident again, on first viewing he felt Brown should have done better.

The Scot said: "The ball was in the air long enough. It was his ball and he should be taking it.

"They obviously feel Nemanja collided with him but the keeper should have collected it anyway and he didn't."

The goal proved the catalyst for what Ferguson described as United's 'best performance of the season'.

If there was an element of doubt over the visitors' first goal, there was none over the second.

Brown sent Cristiano Ronaldo beyond the Blackburn defence and the cross was perfect for Rooney, who swept home in superb fashion in front of watching England coach Fabio Capello.

"That was his (Rooney's) best performance of the season for us," said Ferguson.

"Blackburn had to gamble and we capitalised."

Rooney will now be asked to ensure England gain World Cup victories over Kazakhstan and Belarus in World Cup combat over the next fortnight while Ince, who is hoping Roque Santa Cruz will be excused a trip to Paraguay because of a hamstring injury, is left to contemplate the unequal struggle of life in the Barclays Premier League.

Ince said: "Their squad is worth £200 million, they brought on Carlos Tevez, who on his own would cost more than all my players put together, so I don't think we under-performed.

"They are a great side. They are the Premier League champions and the Champions League winners. They can replace people like Rooney with people like Tevez.

"They have some of the best players in the world. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say: 'well done'."