Manchester United stayed perfect in Group F of the Champions League, beating FC Copenhagen 3-0 Tuesday.

Paul Scholes, John O'Shea and Kieran Richardson scored a goal each for Manchester United, which leads the group with nine points.

Scholes scored in the 39th minute, driving the ball from the edge of box past diving Copenhagen goalkeeper Jesper Christiansen and into the near corner.

``We're really pleased, we got three goals and three points and it was an important win tonight,'' said United striker Wayne Rooney, who was given the captain's armband in the absence of the injured Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs. ``We had a lot of chances, but at the end of the day we're just happy to get three points.''

Manchester United failed to progress from the group stage last season for the first time in 10 years. It now only needs a point from its last two games _ at Celtic and home to Benfica _ to advance.

``I think they have proved themselves. They have grown up,'' United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. ``They don't want any more embarrassments and they played well into the bargain.''

O'Shea scored from Cristiano Ronaldo's corner in the 46th minute, with the ball bouncing off his leg into the goal. Richardson added United's third in the 83rd when Christiansen slipped while running to collect his shot and the ball bounced over his feet and over the line.

Ferdinand injured his neck while warming up, while Giggs felt too ill to play. They were replaced by Wes Brown and Darren Fletcher, and Wayne Rooney was named Manchester United captain for the first time.

``I thought he was fantastic,'' Ferguson said of Rooney. ``It is always difficult choosing captains and I looked at Edwin van der Sar, but it is never the most important issue.''

Rooney had chances to break his goal drought, which is now at nine matches. He couldn't get his foot to a diagonal shot from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 18th. Early in the second half, Christiansen pushed the ball away in a one-on-one with Rooney and defender Michael Gravgaard cleared the rebound.

``I think I'm more or less back to my best and my performances are OK,'' Rooney said.

United striker Louis Saha had two chances saved by Christiansen after being set up both times by Rooney.

Midfielder Atiba Hitchinson of Brampton, Ont., started for Copenhagen and forced goalie Edwin van der Sar into a save on one of his two shots.

United leads Group F with nine points, followed by Celtic with six. Benfica and Copenhagen have one point each. Celtic beat Benfica 3-0 on Tuesday.