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Premier League, Old Trafford – Manchester United 2 (Nani 51, Kagawa 53) Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Vertonghen 2, Bale 32, Dempsey 52).

Tottenham Hotspur held on to a thrilling 3-2 win at Manchester United, their first league victory at Old Trafford since 1989.

First-half goals from Jan Vertonghen and a Gareth Bale stunner gave Spurs a two-goal advantage at half-time, but United came out for the second period looking a different team.

Three goals marked a kamikaze three-minute period as Nani pulled one back for the hosts before Clint Dempsey and Shinji Kagawa traded blows for both sides.

United launched a late assault on the Spurs goal but a combination of backs-to-the-wall defending and weak finishing saw Andre Vilas-Boas’s side ride the match out to claim a scalp that could have great implications for the Portuguese’s nascent career in North London.

Despite boasting an enviable winning record over Spurs, the hosts were strangely subdued from the start and the visitors soon made them pay.

Vertonghen, getting forward from left-back, clumsily cut inside, and though he did not have the ball under greast control he was barely resisted by a stand-offish defence. His finish was not great either but it took a massive deflection off a sliding Jonny Evans, wrong-footing Anders Lindegaard to nestle in the bottom left.

Ordinarily such an early blow would spark United into action but they continued to look sluggish, the lively Dempsey firing just wide after good play from former Fulham team-mate Moussa Dembele. Aaron Lennon was also a threat, shooting just wide via a deflection from Rio Ferdinand.

Spurs were winning the midfield battle, although United were barely putting up a fight as Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick struggled to get on the ball.

Lone striker Robin Van Persie, meanwhile, was isolated up front from the start and barely in the game from the moment he was left hobbling by a crunching but fair William Gallas tackle.

Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck looked on from the bench and their concern was shared by Sir Alex Ferguson when Spurs doubled their lead in style.

Nothing should be taken away from Bale, who has scored similar goals against feted opposition in the past – most notably Internazionale – but he was allowed to run from halfway far too easily, with Ferdinand losing a five-yard head start as the Welshman fired across Lindegaard with his weaker right foot.

United were two down, at home, after just over half an hour, a status which appeared to finally spark them into action.

But for all their possession after Bale’s strike, Spurs only suffered one scare before half-time when Nani had his shirt pulled by Vertonghen in the box, an act missed by the referee.

No doubt spurred on by a blow-dry at Fergie’s barbershop, United were an entirely different proposition in the second half as they went for the jugular from the restart.

Rooney had come on for the ineffectual Ryan Giggs, while Scholes was spreading the ball and dictating the play as only he and Xavi can.

He started the move from which United pulled one back, allowing Rooney to play an inviting low cross that a late-arriving Nani prodded home, the Portugal winger acquitting himself well after press reports he had fought with a team-mate in training.

That sparked one of the more tumultuous 150 seconds in Premier League history as Spurs re-established a two-goal lead, United half-asleep at the back as Sandro fed Bale, whose shot was well-saved by Lindegaard only for an unchecked Dempsey to roll the ball into the net.

United responded immediately as, within seconds, it was back to 3-2 thanks to a fine ball from the otherwise disappointing Van Persie, Kagawa turning on a sixpence before sliding a cool finish in off the post.

With around 40 minutes left including stoppage time, United sensed one of their classic comebacks. But – for all their possession, for all Scholes’ wonderful crossfield passing, and for all the clever movement from Rooney, Kagawa and Nani – United could not break Spurs’ resolve.

They entertained in their attempts to do so. Rooney hit the post with a superb free-kick and wasted a few half-chances; Van Persie found the back of the net but was offside, also putting wide twice from good positions; in addition to his passing, Scholes forced a smart stop from Friedel with a piledriver from range; Carrick flicked a header against the frame of the goal; Patrice Evra headed straight at Friedel with a free-header.

United had several late penalty claims rejected, with Sandro accidentally handling in the box their best shout, while Kyle Walker seemed to get the ball when sliding in on Kagawa.

But they could not make a breakthrough and, despite the introductions of Welbeck and Javier Hernandez, Spurs were able to hold on for a triumph that was greeted with delight on the bench and with the travelling fans.

Ferguson’s side now lie third in the league, four points off leaders Chelsea and one shy of Everton, with Spurs a point behind in fifth.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham) – Got the ball rolling with an early goal and impressed both in attack and defence from left-back. A strong part of Spurs’ late resistance.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his third goal of Euro 2012 to give Portugal a merited 1-0 win over a sterile Czech Republic side who paid the price for parking the bus in their quarter-final at Warsaw's Stadion Narodowy.

The Real Madrid forward followed on from scoring twice in a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the group stages by arriving late in the box to head into the ground and over goalkeeper Petr Cech from Joao Moutinho's cross on 79 minutes. He has now netted 10 goals from qualifying and these finals in dragging his country to the last four.

The result was never really in doubt against a Czech side who somehow won Group A, but failed to manage a shot on goal all night and seemed paralysed without injured Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky in their ranks.

Portugal - unchanged from their three matches in finishing second behind Germany in Group B - will face world and European champions Spain or France for a place in the final. They must have a real chance to claim the trophy with Ronaldo hungry, elusive and suddenly replicating the level of form that he brings to Spanish La Liga winners Real.

Czech manager Michal Bílek vowed to be defensive to avoid a repeat of the 4-1 mauling they received from Russia in the opening game of the tournament, but nobody could have imagined they would be so negative.

Portugal could easily have won by three or four goals, but only a combination of sloppy finishing and agile goalkeeping by Cech kept the Czechs in the match until late in the contest.

Portugal came up with 20 efforts at goal with Ronaldo twice hitting the post before he scored. He turned and buried a shot against Cech's left-hand upright late in the first period while another free-kick from 30 yards was sent spitting beyond Cech only to brush the outside of a post.

The longer this mismatch staggered on, more chances fell around the Czech Republic goal. Bilek's men were either unable or unwilling to lay a glove on their opponents, who were well served by Nani and the busy Moutinho as they camped out in the opposition half in the second period.

Ronaldo saw an overhead kick fly wide on 30 minutes before substitute Hugo Almeida headed over a couple of minutes after half-time to illustrate how the second half was going to work out for the Czechs.

Cech made fine stops from Nani and Moutinho with less than 30 minutes left with Nani seeing a shot deflect over the bar. Almeida also had the ball in the net, but was deemed to be offside while he headed over again from close range to suggest his arrival to replace the injured Helder Postiga was not a roaring success. Postiga may be finished for the finals having been forced off with a hamstring strain.

For the record, Joao Pereira had a shot at goal nudged wide by Cech with eight minutes left, but Portugal were convincing winners with their one goal.

Ronaldo has now scored six goals at Euro finals, the joint-most of any Portuguese player, along with Nuno Gomes. Watched by former Portuguese greats Eusebio and Luis Figo, Ronaldo can take his place as one of the game's most feted players if he can inspire Portugal to carry off the tournament.

He seems to be on the right path.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal booked their Euro 2012 quarter-final place with a 2-1 win against Netherlands in Kharkiv.

The Portuguese captain defied criticism of his performances with a magnificent display to secure second place in Group B and a last-eight meeting with the Czech Republic.

The Dutch suffered a third defeat in as many games, wilting after Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring with a superb goal on 11 minutes.

Thereafter Portugal - in particular Ronaldo - ran riot. The Real Madrid forward scored on 28 and 74 minutes, and struck the woodwork twice for good measure.

He has now scored in three European Championship finals, and made amends for his wayward shooting against Germany and Denmark.

Knowing his team had to win by at least two goals to have any chance of going through, Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk bowed to public pressure by bringing Van der Vaart and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar into an attacking formation.

He sacrificed skipper Mark van Bommel and Ibrahim Afellay, while Ron Vlaar replaced Johnny Heitinga at the back.

The change appeared to pay immediate dividends, as the Dutch tore into their opponents from the off, with Robin van Persie operating as a deep striker behind Huntelaar, and Van der Vaart even deeper in central midfield.

And it was Van der Vaart, wearing the captain's armband, who broke the deadlock with a peach of a strike, taking Arjen Robben's lay-off and curling a 20-yard shot into the left corner of Rui Patricio's net.

That goal sent Denmark through on the 'as it stands' table, though Portugal were soon back in second place when Germany took the lead against the Danes in Lviv. The table changed again when Denmark equalised, but back in Kharkiv Portugal had started to dominate.

The flipside of Van Marwijk's attacking formation was that his side looked extremely porous in midfield, and Portugal flowed through them with ease.

Ronaldo hit the outside of the post, before Helder Postiga missed a one-on-one following a terrible Gregory van der Wiel backpass.

Ronaldo went close again with a header Maarten Stekelenburg clawed to safety, but he was not to be denied.

On 28 minutes sloppy play from the Jetro Willems gave Joao Pereira possession, and the Portugal right-back slid Ronaldo through with one of the passes of the tournament - and the Portugal captain found the net at last.

Holland, clad all in black, could not stem the red tide. Nani struck a low shot just wide, before Ronaldo stung Stekelenburg's hands with a long-range effort.

The second half brought a slight tactical shift from the Dutch, with Wesley Sneijder taking a more central role, but Van Marwijk did nothing to address the lack of bite in midfield.

The otherwise wasteful Postiga had the ball in the net on the hour mark when he turned in a Ronaldo shot, but his effort was rightly ruled out for offside.

Portugal continued to dominate, and were particularly potent on the counter-attack. On 66 minutes Ronaldo teed up his club-mate Fabio Coentrao, who brought a fine diving save from Stekelenburg.

Van Marwijk responded by removing a defender and bringing on Ibrahim Afellay - succeeding only in making his side more vulnerable on the break.

Shortly afterwards, Ronaldo teed up Nani, whose close range shot brought a brilliant save from Stekelenburg - but a more precise finish would have given the goalkeeper no chance.

There was no reprieve two minutes later, when roles were reversed and Nani supplied Ronaldo, who cut inside Van der Wiel and picked out the bottom-left corner.

That goal sparked an on-pitch row between Van der Vaart and Robben as the fractious Dutch saw their tournament definitively ended.

Van der Vaart at least hit the post with a curling right-foot effort, before the out-of-sorts Van Persie missed a clear opportunity.

There was still time for Ronaldo to crack a left-foot shot against the base of the right upright at the end of a thoroughly impressive performance.

Three games, three defeats. So ends a desperate tournament for the Netherlands.

Mario Gomez gave Germany a narrow 1-0 win over Portugal in Group B after a wretched match at the Arena Lviv in Ukraine.

The match seemed destined to finish goalless with both sides reluctant to commit bodies forward, but Bayern Munich's Gomez settled the match in Germany's favour when he rose to head Sami Khedira's deflected cross beyond Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio on 72 minutes.

Portugal enjoyed their best moments of the match when they were forced to throw caution to the wind in the death throes of the match, but their defensive approach did not contribute to an appetising spectacle as men such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Helder Postiga were forced to live off scraps for most of the evening.

Germany will reach the last eight if they beat the Netherlands on Wednesday night. It should be a fascinating occasion with the Dutch needing to avoid defeat having lost 1-0 to Denmark in Kharkiv earlier in the day.

Portugal showed enough against Germany in the final 18 minutes to suggest they can beat Denmark on Wednesday but they would be better served to adopt a more positive outlook against Morten Olsen's side.

The first period was a non-event in terms of being an event as Lukas Podolski drove a shot into the arms of Patricio on eight minutes with Thomas Mueller screwing a effort wide seven minutes before half-time.

The best chance of the half fell to Portugal a minute before half-time as Pepe saw a header come back off the underside of the bar before bouncing to safety.

Portugal claimed for a goal, but replays showed it had not crossed the line.

Jerome Boateng was forced to make a fine tackle on Ronaldo as he prepared to shoot inside the Germany box on 64 minutes. Gomez struck eight minutes later to settle the matches moments before he was going to be replaced.

Watched by Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho, Portugal could have rescued a draw in the closing moments as Nani saw a cross clip the top of Germany's bar while Ronaldo's effort from distance was beaten out by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as it dipped and swerved in the air.

Neuer then spread himself superbly well to save from Varela after his fellow substitute Nelson Oliveira had shown some intelligence to play provider.

Portugal have never been eliminated from the group stage of the European Championships in five appearances. They at least know what is on the line before they confront Denmark. 

Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United responded to their crushing European disappointment with a comfortable 4-1 Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford.

Nani scored United's first and set up Rooney for the second - the Englishman's first domestic goal in almost three months - to move the defending champions within two points of leaders Manchester City, who play at Chelsea on Monday.

Steven Fletcher continued his fine recent form by pulling a goal back a minute into the second half, but it was not enough to see Wolves claim what would have been a vital point.

Nani and Rooney then both struck again to make it five wins from United's last six league games. Rooney's second goal was his 113th in the league for United, moving him into the top 10 of the club's all-time goal scorers ahead of Tommy Taylor.

For all their characteristic work rate and togetherness, Wolves never looked likely to repeat their 2-1 win over United at Molineux in February once Fletcher's first-minute effort flew wide of David de Gea's near post.

The Red Devils soon took hold of the game and could have been ahead on seven minutes when Antonio Valencia - starting in place of Ashley Young - crossed for Michael Carrick, who sent his diving header just over from 12 yards.

Alex Ferguson's side took the lead on 17 minutes as an eventual result of Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey's miscued clearance. That led to the Welsh keeper saving Rooney's effort at the near post at the expense of a corner, and after that set piece was not cleared sufficiently Nani roamed across the edge of the box before firing a clinical low strike into the bottom corner for his fourth league goal of the season.

Nani was then sent free down the left after an excellent through ball from Danny Welbeck, but Phil Jones was put under enough pressure not to be able to turn in the Portuguese's cross for what would have been his third goal in as many games.

Nani turned provider as the half-hour mark approached with a goal very similar to his opener. Once again Wolves could not fully clear a corner and Nani rolled the ball across to Rooney, whose low finish was too quick for Hennessey to keep out.

That goal took Rooney's league goal tally into double figures for the season, despite it being his first domestic strike since the 3-1 win over Chelsea on September 18.

United continued to dominate proceedings but could not extend their lead before half-time, and soon after the restart they were given a fright when Fletcher outjumped Patrice Evra to head Matt Jarvis's cross back over De Gea and in for his fifth goal in six games.

Nani restored United's two-goal cushion in 57 minutes. Antonio Valencia had given left-back Stephen Ward a torrid time for much of the afternoon, and on this occasion the Ecuadorean ran at the Irishman before firing a low cross in that Nani prodded home from the edge of the six-yard box.

Five minutes later, Rooney had his second of the game again thanks to Valencia. The cross came to the England striker at the far post and he fired a delightful half-volley on the turn that gave Hennessey no chance of saving it.

Ferguson felt comfortable enough at 4-1 up to bring 19-year-old left-back Ezekiel Fryers on for his Premier League debut, and the youngster helped United close out a game which may not provide much of a tonic for their European failure but aid least aids them in their league title defence, now unquestionably their top priority.

Manchester United clung onto the coat-tails of leaders Manchester City when beating Aston Villa 1-0 in a Premier League match at Villa Park that made for painful viewing.

Long spells of mediocrity, from the home side in particular, were largely punctured by injuries as Javier Hernandez suffered an apparently serious ankle blow and Shay Given was withdrawn with a hamstring problem in the first half, with Jermaine Jenas later joining them on the sidelines.

The only real glimpse of genuine quality in the contest came after 20 minutes when Phil Jones scored his first senior goal with a lovely finish from Nani's cross. It proved to be the critical moment in an instantly forgettable contest.

The result means United reclaim second place from Tottenham, who earlier won at home to Bolton, and remain five points shy of City. Villa, with just two wins in 13, are eighth but with concerns growing among supporters about the tactical and stylistic approach of manager Alex McLeish.

After a low-key start to proceedings at Villa Park, the game suffered a lengthy stoppage when Hernandez went over on his ankle. The striker required plenty of treatment and left the pitch on a stretcher and in considerable pain, adding to United's attacking problems with Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen both injured at present.

Rather than push Ashley Young into a central role, it was instead Nani who was asked to come inside when Antonio Valencia took to the pitch and the Portugal international quickly found himself at the centre of the action when firing a shot well off target.

With Villa offering little of note, it was left to United to take the initiative and Chris Smalling saw a smart shot on the turn blocked by Richard Dunne and Stephen Warnock after Nemanja Vidic headed back across goal from a corner after 19 minutes.

Just 60 seconds later United were in front as they exploited some poor defending from the home side. Nani was afforded far too much space on the left and he had no problem dinking in a cross to Jones, who was left completely unmarked to produce an accomplished volleyed finish with his instep for his first senior goal.

With Villa apparently unable to string together a succession of passes, United went close to a second on 25 minutes. Dunne's mistake allowed Rooney to take possession and after he found Valencia, the winger crossed for Nani who saw his header saved by Given. It was then Valencia's turn to threaten as he collected possession 25 yards from goal and unleashed a fearsome effort that flew narrowly over the bar.

Villa's disappointing evening continued when they were forced into a change of their own after 38 minutes, with Given apparently suffering a hamstring strain to be replaced by Brad Guzan. The discontent of the home fans was audible around Villa Park when a poor first half, extended by eight additional minutes, finally came to an end.

McLeish was unable to coax much more out of his side in the second half as a rather dismal game continued in a similar vein. Rooney and Gabriel Agbonlahor had half-chances and those home supporters inside Villa Park were forced to wait until the 70th minute to see a chance of note from their team.

Agbonlahor won a corner when his shot was deflected up and over the bar and when Dunne flicked it on to the back post, substitute Emile Heskey should have done much better than nodding the ball off target.

The chance appeared to inject a bit of life into the match and after Young dragged a shot wide of the post following a nice run infield, James Collins threatened at the other end when his firm header from Dunne's hopeful ball into the box forced a smart reaction save from Anders Lindegaard.

Rooney threatened late on while substitute Danny Welbeck was correctly ruled offside when collecting a pass from the striker and rolling the ball past Guzan. It was an underwhelming conclusion to an underwhelming evening.

Wayne Rooney's stunning overhead kick sealed a 2-1 derby victory for Premier League leaders Manchester United over Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Nani opened the scoring in the run-up to the end of an even first half, in which City showed more attacking intent than any point during the drab goalless reverse fixture at Eastlands back in November.

David Silva drew the visitors level on 65 minutes with a fortunate deflected goal he knew little about, but it was no less than City deserved.

However, with 12 minutes of the match remaining Rooney produced a magical winner to send United eight points above their title-chasing local rivals.

Rooney's recent progress back towards his blistering form of a year ago has been slow and uneven since the turn of the year, but this acrobatic moment of pure genius cannot help but raise hopes that he will rediscover his glorious best sooner rather than later.

Both sides were unable to field entirely first-choice line-ups. Chris Smalling made his first appearance in a Manchester derby in defence with Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans both unavailable, while Alex Ferguson again elected to drop league top scorer Dimitar Berbatov to the bench for a big game.

Roberto Mancini also named his own big-money striker, Edin Dzeko, as a substitute and moved full-back Aleksandar Kolarov up the pitch to bolster a midfield missing the injured Nigel de Jong.

Although United began in confident fashion, City had plenty of moments, mainly orchestrated by Silva. The diminutive Spaniard should have had City ahead after four minutes when Carlos Tevez slipped a cute through ball into his path inside the box, but he fired wide of the far post from an angle.

United's own instrumental Iberian, Nani, looked determined to grab his first derby goal, fizzing strikes over the bar and firing right at keeper Joe Hart from range throughout the half.

Ryan Giggs, playing in his 34th derby for United, was equally influential for the home side, bending in an inviting cross which Darren Fletcher could only head down at Hart's feet.

The veteran winger's precision came to the fore for the opening goal which allowed Nani to cap off a classic Route One goal on 41 minutes. Edwin van der Sar's long boot up the pitch was flicked on by Rooney, who had been for the most part shackled by Vincent Kompany. The header fell to Giggs, who clipped the ball through for Nani to meet and finish his surge into the box with a clinical low shot past Hart.

Mancini had stated before the match that he was aiming to win, and he made positive switches after the break, firstly introducing Shaun Wright-Phillips for Kolarov before Dzeko made his arrival on the hour-mark.

As Kompany continued to frustrate Rooney at one end, including one exceptional sliding block after Fletcher had played an inviting ball into the box for the England man to hit on the turn, Dzeko had a hand in the equaliser at the other.

Technically it could go down as an assist for Silva's goal, although it was nothing of the sort. The Bosnia striker miscued his shot from Wright-Phillips's low cross after a good move down the left initiated by Tevez, and the effort rebounded off Silva and into the net before anyone, including Van der Sar, knew what had happened.

The goal made the final quart of the game an open, end-to-end encounter, although clear chances were at a premium. That was until the 78th minute, when Nani's speculative cross from the right was met by Rooney leaping into the air and firing his crisply struck bicycle kick right into the top corner. Any strike that beats this one to be goal of the season will be very special indeed.

From then on, City never looked like pulling themselves back on terms for a second time, and United did what they have done countless times before at Old Trafford by frustrating their increasingly frantic opponents and securing a victory which takes them one step closer to the title.

Manchester United suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season in a shock 2-1 loss at bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

In a top versus bottom clash that all but the most optimistic Wolves fan assumed would be a United walkover, two goals from George Elokobi - although Kevin Doyle will try to claim the second - overcame Nani’s opener as the champions struggled to create opportunities against their stubborn hosts.

Defender Elokobi had never scored in the Premier League before but it was United who were bereft of ideas as they lost their first league game at the 25th time of asking.

Despite the result Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are four points clear of second-placed Arsenal after the Gunners threw away a four-goal lead at Newcastle, while Wolves stay at the bottom following Wigan’s win, behind West Ham only on goals scored.

United had a fabulous start when, on three minutes, Nani scored a trademark goal, cutting inside from the right and - with everyone expecting the cross - firing a wicked drive inside Wayne Hennessey’s exposed near post.

Wayne Rooney should have made it 2-0 soon afterwards but fired straight at Hennessey after excellent hold-up play from Dimitar Berbatov. After that, though, United’s performance was nothing short of abject as they barely created a meaningful opportunity.

Wolves levelled on 10 minutes as United fell asleep at a quick corner routine, Elokobi flicking an excellent header into the bottom right with the visiting defence all over the place.

Down the other end Christophe Berra was granted a reprieve by 25-year-old referee Michael Oliver when he appeared to block Nemanja Vidic as he arrived to meet a corner.

That was on the quarter hour and, for the rest of the half, it was all Wolves, with Jamie O’Hara testing Edwin van der Sar at the near post and a superb Nenad Milijas free-kick deflected just wide with the soon-to-retire Dutch keeper stranded.

The cultured left boot of Serbia midfielder Milijas had a huge say in Wolves’ second goal five minutes before the break, which came about from his wonderful inswinging free-kick from the right, flat and almost impossible to defend as both Elokobi and Doyle claimed the goal.

Doyle stooped into a header but it appeared to strike the shoulder of the Cameroonian full-back: it was impossible to tell but Elokobi mock harassed the Irishman into letting him have the goal.

Nani headed one over just before the break, although with his lack of aerial ability it was generous to afford it half-chance status, and United were sent out early for the second half as Ferguson opted for the low-level humiliation that worked at Blackpool.

There was no such joy this time though as United, for all their possession, never really tested Hennessey in the second 45 minutes.

Just before the hour mark half-time substitute Paul Scholes slid a Rafael cross well wide, while Berra blocked Rooney’s effort after his keeper failed to claim a routine cross.

Late on Patrice Evra had a penalty shout correctly rejected when he fired a cross against the arm of Ronald Zubar from point-blank range as United huffed and puffed through the latter stages, which included a generous five minutes of injury time awarded by Oliver.

To say Wolves held out would be flattering - they merely had to remain solid - as United’s poor away record threw the title race back open.

Manchester United destroyed Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford with a 7-1 victory that sends them to the top of the Premier League table.

Wayne Rooney made his first league start for the club in two months, but it was Dimitar Berbatov who answered his own critics emphatically by scoring five goals to end his 10-match scoring drought.

Berbatov claimed a brace in the first half - with Park Ji-sung adding another before the break - before the Bulgarian netted three more in the second half, with Nani also getting on the scoresheet.

The drubbing sends United back above Arsenal - who were briefly top following their earlier win at Aston Villa - and also Chelsea, who can return to the summit when they travel to Newcastle on Sunday.

United were ahead inside two minutes when Blackburn failed to clear their lines and Nani's cross was steered skilfully past Paul Robinson by Berbatov. It was the Bulgarian's first goal in 11 matches, since his hat-trick against Liverpool back in September.

Rooney and Berbatov continuously linked up well as United thoroughly dominated proceedings, and the inevitable second came midway through the half.

Park surged forward before finding Rooney on the edge of the D, and the England striker played a perfectly-weighted return pass into the Korean's path for him to lift a delightful finish over Robinson.

Rovers boss Sam Allardyce replaced the poor Herold Goulon with David Hoillett soon after, but the match was over as a contest when Berbatov gratefully received Pascal Chimbonda's woefully underhit back pass to fire in his second and United's third in the 27th minute.

Berbatov could have claimed his hat-trick just before the break when his mesmeric dribble into the area was halted by Michel Salgado's block, but referee Mark Clattenburg denied the appeals and the Spanish defender, already on a yellow card, stayed on the pitch.

As things panned out after the break, Salgado may wish he had been given his marching orders.

Just as he scored early in the first half, Berbatov scored again two minutes after the restart when he played a delightful ball out to Nani with the outside of his boot and continued his run. Nani teed Berbatov up with a square pass that he fired into the top corner to claim his hat-trick.

Nani then claimed one of his own right from the kick-off when he cut inside and curled a great finish into the far top corner.

The Portuguese was in electric form on the right wing, and he almost laid a chance on a plate for Rooney after another searing run, but Robinson was off his line to block the pass along the edge of the six-yard box.

Berbatov joined Alan Shearer, Jermain Defoe and former United striker Andy Cole in the club of men to score five goals in a single Premier League match when, after lashing the loose ball into the net after a cross rebounded off Park, he had an attempted pass blocked by Ryan Nelsen which bounced back to him, and he finished from a tight angle with aplomb.

Christopher Samba scored a consolation goal for Rovers with a header from Josh Morris's cross after hitting the bar seconds earlier, before Berbatov was denied becoming the first player to grab a six goals in a Premier League match when Robinson saved his header late on.

That was one of only two shots on target that United did not convert in an awesome display that extended their unbeaten season in fearsome fashion.