IF there were any Real Madrid scouts at Old Trafford checking out the abilities of Ruud van Nistelrooy, they left gleaning one important fact - to Manchester United, the Dutchman is priceless.

Earlier in the day, both David Beckham and Ronaldo expressed their hope that van Nistelrooy would become Real's latest `galactico' this summer - but neither can truly expect the striker to join them in Spain.

Sir Alex Ferguson may not agree, but without van Nistelrooy life would be very bleak for the Red Devils.

Against Stuttgart, he almost single-handedly drove United to top spot in Group E, first by equalling Denis Law's club record of 28 European goals, then with an amazing piece of strength and vision which sent Ryan Giggs away to avenge the 2-1 defeat in Germany earlier in the competition.

While the merits of the result will only be determined in Friday's draw for the first knock-out phase, it should at least ensure United avoid Real, Juventus and AC Milan, which even given van Nistelrooy's presence, has to be welcomed.

Derby priority

Although most neutral observers were of the opinion a place at the top of their group was of major importance, Ferguson is giving higher priority to Saturday's Manchester derby and kept his promise to leave Roy Keane and American keeper Tim Howard on the bench.

After expressing his frustration at the lack of first-team opportunities this season, Nicky Butt was alongside them for the full 90 minutes, no doubt contemplating his future, which shows no sign of immediate improvement.

After 10 years spent largely filling in for older, more established team-mates, Butt tonight found himself watching Phil Neville, Darren Fletcher and Quinton Fortune in midfield.

All three are younger than him, as is second-half substitute Eric Djemba-Djemba and, while Ferguson would be reluctant to let the England international leave the club where he has spent all his professional career, in the ruthless, commercial world of Old Trafford, a January departure maybe inevitable.

Lacklustre

Butt did not have too much to take his mind off his predicament during a lacklustre opening half hour, notable only for two bizarre offside rulings which penalised van Nistelrooy for latching onto a backpass and Giggs for taking possession at a throw-in.

It was not lost on the home support that both decisions were impossible under the laws of the game.

Stuttgart played most of the flowing football, with Aleksander Hleb and Horst Heldt particularly impressive, although United keeper Roy Carroll was only troubled once, when he tipped over Andreas Hinkel's cross which dropped dangerously under his crossbar after looping up off Fortune.

In contrast, though United were wasteful in possession, they created the best chances.

Giggs should have hit the target when van Nistelrooy and Fletcher combined to play a pass onto his favoured left foot barely eight yards out.

Fierce

Fletcher also showed a lack of confidence when he elected to check inside onto Paul Scholes' pass when a fierce angled drive looked on.

Scholes' return to the starting line-up for the first time in two months was welcomed by all United fans.

The flame-haired midfielder's calmness in possession and eye for an opportunity has been badly missed, but it was his other trait, tough - usually poorly timed - tackles which were more in evidence here.

He was booked five minutes before the break when he left Hleb in a crumpled heap with a crude challenge from behind and could have had few arguments if he had seen red seconds after the re-start when he caught Christian Tiffert with the ball gone.

Record

In between, United had been able to enjoy the half-time break thanks to van Nistelrooy's record-equalling strike, which Giggs created out of nothing, picking out his strike partner with an excellent cross that invited the headed finish.

The seriousness with which Real Madrid are actively pursuing van Nistelrooy has yet to be verified, but there is no doubt, given even the merest encouragement, president Florentino Perez would have his cheque-book open in an instant.

It is not just his goal record either - phenomenal as it is.

There is no hint of the kind of ego Ferguson believed Beckham developed before his summer departure, and the striker's willingness to scrap is straight out of the Keane manual.

Three Stuttgart players attempted to shrug the Dutchman off the ball when he took possession on the half-way line just before the hour mark.

None of them managed it and when he looked up, he not only spotted Giggs' blistering run, he found the Welshman with the perfect of passes.

Probably mindful of his earlier miss, Giggs took his time, drew Timo Hilderbrand, then stroked the ball into the net - and United to victory.

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