FEARS of a mass invasion of Manchester by ticket-less Glasgow Rangers fans for the Champions League "Battle of Britain" clash with United at Old Trafford on Tuesday proved unfounded.

Although a large number of fans were expected to make the journey down from Scotland to watch the match in city centre bars, only a few hundred actually made the trip, police said on Wednesday.

Many pubs closed for the day following fears of possible trouble. A total of 13 arrests were made, both at the ground and in the city centre, mainly for public order offences.

Rangers took up their full allocation of 3,000 in the 66,707 crowd packed into the stadium, but they had little to cheer as United waltzed to a convincing 3-0 victory.

Chief Superintendent Dave Ryder, match commander, said: "We are very pleased with the way the fans behaved themselves.

"Those fans without tickets had listened to our advice and stayed away from the ground, knowing they were not going to get in, and so saved themselves a wasted journey.

"I would like to thank all of those who were involved in the game, including Glasgow Rangers football club, Strathclyde Police, Manchester United and Trafford Borough Council.

"Greater Manchester Police have worked very hard to ensure that this game remained friendly and that the fans were safe at all times.

"This has been achieved and I am pleased to say that the whole event has been a success."

Trafford Council's Executive Member for Environment and Community Safety Councillor Pauleen Lane said she was delighted that once again Trafford had hosted a successful major football match.

"The whole evening ran extremely smoothly. This was due to both the behaviour of the fans and the effective joint working between ourselves and the police. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for their efforts."