Barclays Premier League
Gareth Davis reports from Pride Park Stadium
A solitary Cristiano Ronaldo goal 15 minutes from the end gave Manchester United victory as the goal-fest predicted in some quarters failed to materialise.
The visitors had by far the better of the chances and plenty more possession but they were met with some stiff Derby resistance and a number of fine Roy Carroll saves.
United's winner was simple in its creation and execution but it arrived after a second period in which they had looked less than fluent for long periods.
It could have been a different game had Ben Foster not produced two fine stops to deny Kenny Miller shortly before the break but Derby can take great heart from the way they went about their task.
David Jones returned to the starting XI after his goal at Chelsea in midweek - and there was also a recall for striker Robert Earnshaw alongside Kenny Miller for the visit of the champions.
Dean Leacock was back in at centre-half with Alan Stubbs ruled out by a calf problem but the first opportunity went to the visitors, who saw Ryan Giggs head into Roy Carroll's arms from a Ji Sung Park cross.
And three minutes in they should have been ahead. Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney combined to send Cristiano Ronaldo away but the Portuguese was - for once - wastefully wide from inside the box.
There had barely been time to note the electric atmosphere around Pride Park Stadium, created by yet another sell-out attendance, and the home faithful certainly voiced their disapproval a few minutes later as Darren Moore picked up a caution for a foul on Ronaldo.
But it was a red tide in the early stages and Moore had to be at his sharpest to block from Giggs, who pulled the trigger from 14 yards.
They came even closer on 11 minutes as O'Shea broke down the right and pulled the ball back for Ronaldo, whose low drive hit the post before being cleared, and from the resulting corner Anderson fired dangerously across goal.
Derby, for their part, had the ball inside the United box a couple of times and goalkeeper Ben Foster - on his long-awaited debut for the club - looked less than assured with two clearances.
But back came the visitors on 18 as Rooney sent Giggs away, but the Welshman couldn't wrap his foot round the ball enough after getting past Carroll.
Jones then saw yellow for a tug-back on Ronaldo, and he - like Moore - could have no real complaints after tugging at the winger's shorts having been beaten for skill.
The Rams' first shot on target eventually arrived 16 minutes before half-time after a patient move through midfield involving Sterjovski, Savage and Jones, though Earnshaw's 20-yard effort lacked the necessary power to test Foster.
United looked set to break through four minutes later but they were prevented by a superb Carroll save.
Rooney made ground across the box and squared the ball to Ronaldo, who took time to tee himself up and cracked a powerful effort that Carroll somehow reached and turned away.
Then Derby were two superb saves away from taking the lead themselves.
Eddie Lewis made lots of ground down the left and pulled a cross back for Miller, who cracked in a volley that Foster got down well to palm away on 37.
Seconds later Miller was through again after escaping the attentions of Wes Brown but Foster came to the rescue once more with another tremendous stop.
It was Derby's turn to enjoy a spell of pressure and Earnshaw was the next to set his sights on goal, though he couldn't quite stretch far enough to reach Sterjovski's cross.
United thought they had finally made their breakthrough two minutes before the interval through Rooney, who beat Moore to a long ball but fired his shot into the side-netting.
Half-time ultimately arrived to great acclaim from the vast majority of the Pride Park crowd, happy with what they had seen so far.
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Derby opened up the second half brightly, bouyed by their efforts in the opening 45, while in contrast the visitors looked rattled as they struggled to clear their lines on more than one occasion.
Ronaldo lined up one of his spectacular free-kicks nine minutes in and it forced Carroll into a sprawling stop before the ball was cleared for a corner, from which the Portuguese headed against Carroll's legs.
While United were waiting to take their next flag-kick the Rams replaced Marc Edworthy with Andy Todd, and when it was finally delivered Ronaldo spurned yet another opportunity from close-range.
The visitors' response, following yet another close Ronaldo free-kick, was to throw on Louis Saha and Michael Carrick for Ji Sung Park and Paul Scholes shortly after the hour.
Saha's first act was to go through Moore with a challenge that really should have earned him a yellow card but it didn't even result in a free-kick for the Rams.
And Derby might well have done better on 66 with a quick break.
Miller picked up the ball on the left and fed Jones, who in turn slipped it through to Sterjovski on the right, and although the Australian took too much time his eventual shot was deflected just past the post.
Two cautions followed in quick succession, one for Savage's kick on Anderson and one for Carrick's tug on Miller.
And the action continued at pace. At one end Jones's powerful effort was blocked well by Patrice Evra, while United broke quickly and Ronaldo fired into the side-netting from the edge of the box.
That was the visitors' cue to make thier third change, a sure sign that things weren't going their way, as Darren Fletcher took over from Anderson with 17 minutes left.
But the goal eventually arrived on 75.
Rooney managed to spring Derby's offside trap down the left and chipped the ball back into the box, where Ronaldo was on hand to slip his finish calmly past Carroll.
It was hard to argue against United deserving the lead on the balance of play, but with the way Derby had defended they would be justified in feeling disappointed at the manner in which the goal was scored.
Tito Villa was already on for Earnshaw before Derby's last throw of the substitution dice was made with eight minutes remaining as Laurent Robert took over from Sterjovski.
But there was also a change of the man in the middle as Phil Dowd, who had earlier received treatment, hobbled off and was replaced by fourth official Trevor Kettle.
Kettle followed Dowd's lead with another caution for a Derby player tugging Ronaldo back, this time McEveley, but that gave the visitors a central free-kick some 25 yards from goal.
Ronaldo stepped up and fired it in but Carroll was equal with another fine save to his right.
And the Northern Ireland international could have been Derby's unlikely hero right at the death.
First, he saved well from Ronaldo inside the box, and the Rams won a late corner which he charged forward for and saw his 20-yard drive blocked in front of goal.
It wasn't Derby's day in terms of a result but it was certainly Derby's day in terms of a performance.
DERBY: Carroll, Edworthy (Todd 55), McEveley, Leacock, Jones, Earnshaw (Villa 75), Miller, Lewis, Sterjovski (Robert 82), Moore, Savage (C).
SUBS: Price (GK), Ghaly.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Foster, Evra, Brown, Ronaldo, Anderson (Fletcher 73), Rooney, Giggs (C), Park (Saha 62), Vidic, Scholes (Carrick 62), O'Shea.
SUBS: Heaton (GK), Hargreaves.
ATTENDANCE: 33, 072 (3,060 visiting fans).
