Manchester United moved to the top of the Barclays English Premier League with a resounding 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford. With Arsenal already recording a victory over Aston Villa, United fired all cylinders with the much criticised Dimitar Berbatov scoring five goals. Berbatov thus became the fourth player to score five goals in a match after United striker Andy Cole, Newcastle’s Alan Shearer and Tottenham’s Jermaine Defoe.
United opened their scoring in the 2nd minute through Berbatov who latched onto a pass from Nani. Ji Sung Park made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute before Berbatov scored his second to give United a 3-0 lead before the half hour mark. It was refreshing to see United in the groove after a long time in the season and their unbeaten season continues.
Barely after the restart Berbatov slotted his third to score his second hattrick of the season before Nani made it 4-0 in the 48th minute. United’s fan wishing to see Rooney score were left disappointed but Rooney was one of the chief architect behind Berbatov’s goals. Even when the Bulgarian tried to pass to Rooney, the ball rebounded to him and he slotted it gleefully for his fifth. Much of the United’s goal were through the midfield dominance of Anderson and Nani. Anderson particularly was brilliant with his passes which more often scythed through the defenders. With 20 minutes to go and Blackburn 7-0 down, it was expected that United would add more to the misery of the Rovers outfit. Blackburn though earned a consolation goal through Samba in the 83rd minute, but a complete rout was inevitable.