Wayne Rooney hit his ninth Premier League goal of the season as Manchester United brushed aside Chelsea 3-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday night.
The England man scored his team’s third after Chris Smalling had headed home Ashley Young’s free-kick and Nani hammered in from 25 yards. Fernando Torres netted only his second goal for Chelsea straight after the break.
And Rooney missed a penalty after Jose Bosingwa brought down Nani.
United started quickly, with Smalling allowed a free header from Ashley Young’s free-kick on eight minutes to make it 1-0.
Half-an-hour later, Nani controlled a high ball on the right and cut inside. Chelsea’s defenders backed off and the Portugal winger lashed home from 25 yards.
With Andre Villas-Boas’s men still reeling, Rooney made it 3-0.
Phil Jones picked up the ball on the halfway line, running 30 yards before laying it off to Nani, who backheeled.
The ball cannoned around the area as John Terry tried to clear but it landed at Rooney’s feet, who calmly made it three.
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After just 30 seconds of the second half, Torres made it 3-1 when he latched on to substitute Nicolas Anelka’s through ball and slotted past David de Gea.
United should have made it 4-1 when Nani hit the bar and was tripped by Jose Bosingwa in the area as he tried to follow it up.
But Rooney slipped and side-footed the penalty well wide.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s only real concern was Javier Hernandez hobbling off midway through the second-half after Ashley Cole went over the top of the ball, crashing into the Mexican’s ankle.
Torres could have made it 3-2 after selling De Gea a brilliant dummy and running clear – but he fired wide of an open goal.
Nine-man Liverpool were embarrassed at White Hart Lane as Tottenham cruised to a 4-0 win. Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice on his home debut, with Luka Modric and Jermain Defoe also netting, as Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel were sent off.
Steve Bruce heaved a huge sigh of relief as Sunderland demolished Stoke 4-0 to claim their first victory of the season.
The Black Cats roared into a 3-0 lead within 28 first-half minutes to lay the foundation for just their third Barclays Premier League win of 2011 at the Stadium of Light.
Manchester City surrendered their 100% record in this season’s Premier League as Fulham stunned them with a second-half comeback in a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage.
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