Scholes shines as Utd cruise

Paul Scholes produced a majestic performance as Man Utd moved five points clear at the top of the table after a 3-0 win over Fulham.

United veteran's masterclass inspires ninth straight win

Paul Scholes produced a majestic performance as Manchester United moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League after a 3-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford. United veteran Scholes rolled back the years with a virtuoso display as he opened the scoring before Dimitar Berbatov and the returning Wayne Rooney sealed a ninth straight victory in the League. A dip into the archives brought about United's opening goal on 12 minutes as Michael Carrick played out a corner to Scholes, who struck a trademark volley from 25 yards which Mark Schwarzer saved only for the ball to spin back across the Fulham keeper and over the line. Bobby Zamora headed Fulham's only chance of the half wide before Aaron Hughes cleared Berbatov's effort off the line after Schwarzer had dropped Cristiano Ronaldo's cross. Carlos Tevez had a goal chalked off for offside following Berbatov's pass, but the Bulgarian then made it 2-0 on the half-hour mark as he tapped in from close range after Schwarzer dithered when John O'Shea turned Scholes' dinked pass back across goal. Berbatov should have increased the lead further when poking another shot wide before he had a header from Ronaldo's free-kick ruled out for offside. The fit-again Rooney was introduced for Berbatov on the hour mark and within minutes he had scored the third, slotting home at the far post from Park Ji-sung's shot-cum-cross. Zamora flicked a chance wide, and Fulham had two penalty shouts turned down as the visitors failed to test Edwin van der Sar, who kept a 14th consecutive clean sheet in the Premier League. If Van der Sar can keep Blackburn at bay for 89 minutes at Old Trafford on Saturday, he will eclipse the European record of Club Brugge stalwart Dany Verlinden, who went 1,390 without conceding a goal in 1990. As expected, Rooney was named on the bench after missing seven games with a hamstring injury. However, Ryan Giggs did not even have that consolation as Sunday's man-of-the-match at Derby watched on from the stands.

Obduracy

Although Fulham had no away wins and only three goals to their name, their results suggest an obduracy that might have caught United out. But that was not the case. Sir Alex Ferguson's men were well on top when Schwarzer offered the kind of gift not really needed but accepted all the same. Scholes could probably bring out a DVD compilation of the goals he has scored from the training ground move that simply involves a team-mate dropping a corner into his path. Typically, the former England star responded to Carrick's invitation to shoot by launching a thunderbolt goalwards. Schwarzer should have saved but somehow allowed the ball to squirm its way into the opposite corner. The Australian is normally the most reliable of goalkeepers but it seemed he had been struck down by a sudden attack of nerves. Failing to hold a Ronaldo cross that bounced right in front of him, Schwarzer could only watch on helplessly as Berbatov steered the loose ball goalwards, only for Hughes to make the goalline clearance.

Conclusive winner

The Bulgarian was a conclusive winner next time the trio were in close proximity though. O'Shea created the opportunity, continuing his run into the box after laying a pass off to Carrick. Scholes provided the flick on that O'Shea toed Berbatov's way. Schwarzer and Hughes closed in, neither man made contact and the United striker gleefully tapped home. Had Berbatov not followed Tevez in having an effort disallowed for a marginal offside decision, Fulham might as well have started making their way home at the interval. Not that the visitors were likely to score twice against a team who last felt the sinking feeling of conceding a goal at the beginning of November. Two brilliant passes from Scholes created a half-chance for Berbatov to force Schwarzer into a good save, which at least gave the former Middlesbrough man something to cheer before his net was bulging again. Rooney had only been on the field for two minutes after replacing Berbatov and had yet to touch the ball when Park let fly with a low cross-shot. He did not need a settling-in period though as he tapped home at the far post. For a fleeting moment it looked as though Van der Sar would be picking the ball out of his own net as well, but Zamora spurned the gilt-edged opportunity.

Manchester United	Team Statistics	Fulham
3	Goals	0
2	1st Half Goals	0
7	Shots on Target	0
11	Shots off Target	5
1	Blocked Shots	1
11	Corners	2
7	Fouls	14
7	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
87.3	Passing Success	82.9
12	Tackles	14
58.3	Tackles Success	57.1
62.1	Possession	37.9
53.8	Territorial Advantage	46.2