Sir Alex Ferguson - in an effort to boost Ronaldo's confidence.

Cristiano Ronaldo, named as the best footballer on the planet only last week, was given Carling Cup duty against Championship side Derby by Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson - in an effort to boost his confidence.

Mike Phelan, Ferguson’s No 2, revealed it was a deliberate strategy to name the out-of-sorts Portugal star as a substitute in order to give him a much-needed lift.

The winger scored 42 times last season but he had not managed a domestic goal
since his double in the 5-0 win over Stoke on November 15.

Phelan said: ‘We had a plan to get Cristiano on the pitch and hopefully give him the chance to score.

'It worked for us, he scored the penalty, so his confidence is up there again.’

Ronaldo has been shaken by a recent car crash in which he wrote off a new ?200,000 Ferrari on the way to training.

Old Trafford spectators were astonished to see the world and European player of
the year join Tuesday night’s action after 57 minutes in the semi-final second leg with United 3-0 ahead.

It finished 4-2, with United winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Ronaldo, valued at ?80million by United in their battle to fend off Real Madrid, ended his nine-match drought by scoring the fourth from the spot after Carlos Tevez was fouled by keeper Roy Carroll.

Reaching the Carling Cup Final on March 1 will mean postponing a league clash against Portsmouth and puts more pressure on United’s demanding four-pronged
bid for silverware after a night of injury misery.

Anderson was carried off after United used all their substitutes and the wounded included Nani, Rafael, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.

Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra and Wes Brown are already sidelined.