Rio Ferdinand has hailed Paul Scholes as "a true professional" after the 35-year-old scored his 100th league goal for Manchester United in the match against Wolves on Saturday.

The former England midfielder scored the game's only goal to maintain United's winning form ahead of the Champions League match with Milan on Wednesday.

Ferdinand told MUTV: "[Scholes is] a true professional and a great footballer and someone who has been a pleasure to play alongside. We're delighted he's got us the winner and it's great for him to have got 100 league goals.

"He's not really anyone who shouts or makes a noise if he scores a goal or does something out of the ordinary that no one else can do, which he often does. But just that speaks volumes for the kind of professional he is."

Ferdinand was also quick to praise Dimitar Berbatov, who led the line in the absence of both Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen. "I thought Berba was fantastic," Ferdinand said. "He occupied their whole back four, which is all you can ask of a centre forward, especially one playing on his own. I think he proved he can be the lone striker if we need him to be."

Edwin van der Sar, meanwhile, is determined to ensure United do not make the same mistakes against Milan as they did against the Italians in 2007, when after a 3-2 first‑leg win at Old Trafford they lost 3-0 at San Siro to exit the competition at the semi-final stage.

"They played particularly well in the home leg here when we won 3-2 and Kaká scored two goals," said the goalkeeper. "Then at the San Siro, Clarence Seedorf was fantastic – he was excellent in both games actually. But we got a good result in Milan and now we need to finish it off with a magic night at Old Trafford.

"We're always confident. And I haven't played a lot in the Champions League yet this season, so I've been really looking forward to these games."