United rise to the summit

Manchester United took top spot in the Premier League table after a narrow 1-0 win away at Bolton.

Berbatov comes to Red Devils' rescue

Manchester United took top spot in the Premier League table after a narrow 1-0 win away at Bolton. Dimitar Berbatov proved to be the hero of the day for Sir Alex Ferguson's men, snatching a late winner to break Trotters hearts. Both sides struggled to find any fluency during the opening exchanges, with attacking endeavour thin on the ground. As the game wore on Fabrice Muamba did test Edwin van der Sar with a dipping effort from the edge of the box, but that was as good as it got for the hosts. United sprung to life with the interval approaching but Jussi Jaaskelainen was equal to everything Cristiano Ronaldo and co. could throw at him. The second half then followed much the same pattern, with hard work failing to bring about goalscoring opportunities. Half chances for Kevin Davies and Ronaldo came and went and the game looked destined to finish all square. Then, in the last minute of normal time, Carlos Tevez escaped his man and centred for the unmarked Berbatov to nod calmly past a stranded Jaaskelainen.

Dismal

Neither side shone during a dismal opening 35 minutes of action. Faced with a Bolton side content to sit back and see what their opponents could throw at them, United's response was disappointing. Too many passes went astray, with Anderson and the normally reliable Michael Carrick among the chief culprits. One Gary Neville pass to Darren Fletcher allowed the Scotland international to cut a cross back for Ronaldo, whose header bounced straight to Jaaskelainen. But other than that, United were bereft. Bolton were not much better, although Gary Megson seems to have unearthed an interesting character in Congo-born Portugal international Ariza Makukula, who arrived on loan from Benfica on Friday. Anyone willing to barge straight through Nemanja Vidic must be brave and his cheery smile as referee Andre Marriner produced the yellow card suggested the Serbian's hard-man reputation was not going to trouble him. Indeed, later on Makukula caught Vidic with another high tackle that left the United man rubbing his side gingerly and by that time the burly striker had seen Van der Sar pluck one of his headers away from goal too. Muamba had a decent shot saved by the veteran Dutchman but it was not until the countdown to half-time had begun that United came to life. The callowness of Chris Basham's youth lured him into a tackle on Berbatov that it was unwise to make. Quiet prior to that point, Ronaldo let fly with a vicious free-kick that Jaaskelainen did superbly to keep out.

Handful

In the flurry that followed, Anderson - who is still to score in 18 months with the Red Devils - let fly from 30 yards but Jaaskelainen was in exactly the right position to make an excellent save. United were expected to start the second period with an extra sense of purpose. Instead, with Makukula continuing to prove a handful, it was Bolton who set the pace. Davies beat Van der Sar with a looping header after Jlloyd Samuel had provided the cross but the Bolton skipper turned in anguish as the ball dropped onto the roof of the net. Finally the Red Devils roused themselves, with Ronaldo supplying the ammunition with a ferocious free-kick that Jaaskelainen bundled away and was thankful to Makukula for the clearance that followed. It was no surprise Ferguson introduced Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes 20 minutes from time and the old stagers soon combined for a corner routine that saw the former England man's bullet strike fly wide off Gary Cahill. If Ronaldo profited from an element of fortune last season, nothing is falling for him this year. A third free-kick was too powerful for Jaaskelainen to hold but yet again the rebound fell Bolton's way and it seemed United would have to settle for a draw. But, as Ferguson's teams have proved so often down the years, they can salvage any situation. And Berbatov appears to be a very quick learner.

Bolton Wanderers	Team Statistics	Manchester United
0	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	10
7	Shots off Target	3
0	Blocked Shots	6
1	Corners	8
12	Fouls	5
2	Offsides	5
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
65.1	Passing Success	82.5
23	Tackles	15
60.9	Tackles Success	80
34.1	Possession	65.9
46.5	Territorial Advantage	53.5