REGARDLESS of Manchester United’s fall from grace, visitors to Old Trafford still require a slice of fortune to go in their favour if they are to return with a result.

It seems to be fashionable to criticise United and Louis Van Gaal. It is true that the Red Devils are a shadow of the side that swashbuckled their way to Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson, but this season they have quietly chugged their way to a top four position.

Sunderland’s work was already cut out for them before even kicking a ball on Saturday, with United’s team bolstered by a £150m spending spree largely in the wake of a disappointing conclusion to last year’s campaign that included a 1-0 win for the Black Cats in April. Their job was made impossible by the second-half sending-off of Wes Brown. From there, Wayne Rooney scored twice and the game was out of sight.

The fact that some omens were perhaps in their favour - the last three teams to beat United on their own patch were Southampton, Swansea and Sunderland – did not help Gus Poyet’s side on this occasion.

Sunderland deserved to be reduced to ten men, but referee Roger East failed to get the straightforward decision right to dismiss John O’Shea for a tackle on Radamel Falcao, instead dismissing Brown, who was in the vicinity but by no means to blame for sending the Colombian sprawling.

From there, Sunderland were on a loser, but were not completely disgraced. Midfielder Jordi Gomez was left to ponder what would have been if the Black Cats had maintained the intensity and defensive nous they displayed in the first half.

“We were in the game until the penalty and after that it was going to be a very difficult day for us playing with ten men against Manchester United,” said the Spaniard.

“We were into the game before the sending off. They were in control but they weren't creating many clear chances. But after that it was a different game.

“We had two or three clear chances at the start of the game but we had to take those chances if we wanted to take something from the game. We didn't take those chances, so after the penalty and the red card it became very difficult for us.

“We knew we would have some chances, and we knew it was important we took them.

“After the penalty it was a different game.

“I think we tried to be solid as a team and we were doing it until the penalty but the game changed with that incident. We were solid until then.”

United had their chances in the opening half, but Sunderland defended manfully to frustrate their hosts.

The Black Cats denied a succession of United chances, with Seb Larsson and O’Shea clearing off the line as Louis van Gaal’s side poured forward.

But Sunderland were not just a defensive unit in the first half, they had chances of their own, Connor Wickham forcing a save out of David De Gea after a decent counter-attack, while Jermain Defoe was denied by the Spaniard after Brown robbed Falcao to slip in the former England striker.

The second half lacked the intensity from the opening 45 minutes, but the game burst into life on 65 minutes when O’Shea hauled down Falcao in the area. East pointed to the spot before inexplicably sending off Brown.

A penalty it certainly was, however, and Rooney made no mistake with the spot kick, firing low to Costel Pantilimon’s right.

The Romanian keeper saved well from substitute Adnan Januzaj moments later as United turned the screw with their numerical advantage.

Sunderland showed little signs of recovery and the game was put beyond doubt on 84 minutes when Rooney headed home after Pantilimon pushed Januzaj’s shot into the path of the England skipper.

Rooney felt United were the better side throughout, but expressed some sympathy over Brown’s dismissal.

“We knew Sunderland would come and make it tough for us,” said the England captain. “We’ve watched their games against the big teams this season and they have defended really well and tried to hit teams on the break.

“They defended well but didn’t really cause us many problems on the break. I thought we were the better team throughout and deserved the win.”

“I think it was a penalty but I just don’t think it was Wes. I haven’t seen the replay yet but Falcao was in between the two of them and the referee hasn’t seen which way it was.

“Maybe you could argue that he shouldn’t have given a penalty if he hasn’t seen who it was. His linesman was there as well so one of them should have seen it. It was tough but I would imagine it will get rescinded but in our view it was a clear penalty.”