FEARS of traffic chaos following yesterday's Charity Shield football match were unfounded, Newport police say.

More than 70,000 people packed the Millennium Stadium for the eagerly awaited clash between arch-rivals Liverpool and Manchester United, with Liverpool claiming their third trophy in three visits to the Welsh capital with a 2-1 win.

Police made special provisions for both sets of fans, allocating specific routes in and out of Cardiff to cope with the increase in traffic.

Manchester United supporters left Cardiff via the M4 and the Coldra roundabout, with the army of Liverpool fans leaving on the A470 and Heads of the Valleys road.

Hold-ups were expected on the roads because of the huge volume of traffic.

But Gwent Police Inspector Gerwyn Birch said: "Traffic travelling past Newport has been moving slowly, which can only be expected with the thousands of people involved. "But thanks to our preparations everything is moving along nicely."

The roads were back to normal at about 8.30pm last night.

Due to the fierce rivalry between the two sets of supporters, police had feared clashes. But Inspector Birch said there had been no problems in Newport.

He said: "It was quite quiet." In Cardiff, 22 people were arrested during a spate of assaults and public disorder offences over the weekend.

South Wales police were today due to continue questioning two boys after a man was allegedly slashed across the back before the match.

The two boys arrested, aged 11 and 13, are from the Cardiff area.