A Dimitar Berbatov double extended Manchester United's unbeaten run to 17 games and consolidated their position at the Barclays Premier League summit as Sunderland were brushed aside 2-0 at Old Trafford.
Victory provided United with a healthy advantage over Arsenal and Chelsea, who meet at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, and nearest challengers Manchester City, who have played two games more.
And while Wayne Rooney's wait for a goal in open play goes on, Berbatov continues to fill the void superbly.
The much-criticised Bulgarian is now on 13 for the season, although his second did require a massive deflection off Anton Ferdinand after he had provided United with a fourth-minute opener in a one-sided contest.
It was almost beyond comprehension that United were not out of sight by half-time.
Not only had they scored an early goal, they had also struck the woodwork on two occasions, Wayne Rooney had twice come close to grabbing that elusive first goal in open play since March and both Berbatov and Ryan Giggs had threatened terror at every turn.
In response, under-strength Sunderland failed to muster a single shot. Yet somehow Steve Bruce remained hopeful of if not gaining that long-awaited win over his old boss, at least not returning to Wearside empty-handed despite missing seven key men.
Berbatov had broken the deadlock in such simple fashion too. Giggs' driving run through the Sunderland midfield caused the visitors a major headache. When the veteran laid off a pass to Rooney, Berbatov was in space at the far post. All his strike partner had to do was find him, which he did with a superb chipped cross which the Bulgarian powered home.
On his last start a month ago, Berbatov scored five and United bagged seven and for a while it seemed a repeat was on the cards. Rooney floated an excellent chip narrowly wide. Berbatov thudded a shot against the post. Anderson weaved his way into space on the edge of the area and curled a shot that beat Gordon but crashed down off the bar.
The Scotland keeper was relieved to see another Berbatov effort flash into the side-netting, then saved with his feet as Giggs threatened. Amid all this, Rooney had let fly from the edge of the area and had Gordon scrambling to make the save.
Yet, as Phil Dowd blew his whistle to end the punishment, Sunderland had still only conceded once, knowing United had shown enough weakness earlier in the season to remain vulnerable.
As if to prove how precarious their position was, United's goal came under threat at the start of the second period. First Steed Malbranque, then Asamoah Gyan tried their luck, the latter man blazing over with a volley from an acute angle. The sense of foreboding was increasing amongst the home fans. But the worries were brought to an end when United benefited from a slice of luck they should not have needed.
With Rooney's overlapping run offering Berbatov space after Anderson had picked out the Bulgarian with a pass he delivered whilst appearing to look the other way, a shot was lined up for the right corner of Gordon's goal.
The keeper committed, Berbatov's effort then struck Anton Ferdinand, whose last-minute own goal in the corresponding fixture last year cost his side their first Old Trafford win since 1968.
This time, it was not so costly but the outcome was just the same as the goal doubled United's advantage. Almost immediately, Ferguson replaced Anderson and Giggs with Darron Gibson and Federico Macheda. Anderson did not look particularly impressed but a few consoling words from his manager, no doubt pointing out what lies ahead over the next fortnight, and a standing ovation from the Stretford End, seemed to cheer his mood.
Berbatov almost made it his third hat-trick of the season when he swivelled onto Gibson's wayward shot and let fly with a shot that a startled Gordon could not hold. Boudewijn Zenden finally managed a shot on target for the Black Cats near the end, although by then, United were playing on autopilot anyway.
Sir Alex Ferguson insisted he is not concerned by Wayne Rooney's continuing goal drought, after watching the United striker fail to break his nine-month open play scoring duck against Sunderland.
"Wayne had a couple of tries today,'' Ferguson said. "He was very unlucky with the chip and there were a couple of shots saved by the goalkeeper. He is getting there. The important thing is he is playing well. That is refreshing.''
Rooney is making a positive contribution. It was his excellent chip that set Berbatov up for his fourth-minute opener, although, after blowing a succession of first-half chances, United's record signing required the assistance of a massive deflection off Anton Ferdinand to seal the points after the break.
"Dimitar could have scored four or five today,'' Ferguson said. "He had some terrific opportunities. I was disappointed with the score at half-time. We hit the bar and the post. Their keeper has made a couple of good saves and we played some really good football. It was exciting stuff but then we just seemed to go into third gear.''
Part of the reason for that was the knowledge United's opponents on Tuesday, Birmingham, had their feet up following the postponement of their game at Everton.
Blues boss Alex McLeish took the opportunity to watch Ferguson's side in action, although he is set to be greeted with the presence of Nani at St Andrew's - the Portugal winger set to recover from the hip injury that kept him out of Sunday's encounter - and hopefully Darren Fletcher, who was also sidelined with a heavy cold.
He too could come into contention though as Ferguson intends to make a couple of changes to his starting line-up.
"We have come into good form,'' he said. "In the last few weeks we have played some very good stuff. We are getting that consistency, particularly in our defending. We are looking solid at the back. These are good signs for us. It is an important time to get that.
"Birmingham will be fresh. Going down there is always a difficult place to go to. They have always had a strong home record and are difficult to beat on their own ground. We are aware of that. I will make a couple of changes to freshen that part up. Hopefully we will get the result we want.''
Sunderland boss Steve Bruce laughed off claims that United have been underperforming this season, after seeing his side convincingly beaten at Old Trafford.
"I have heard it said that United are not playing that well,'' he said. "Well, they are unbeaten for six months, so that is not a bad statistic is it? They are top of the league, with games in hand, and history suggests they always get better in the second half of the season.
"Maybe we were a bit naive today. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say you were well beaten. But I wouldn't bet against them, that's for sure.''
No comments:
Post a Comment