Manchester United 2 Sunderland 0

SUNDERLAND'S visit to Manchester United was always going to be a difficult task regardless of whether manager Steve Bruce had a full strength side to choose from.

And, considering the Black Cats were without several of their first team regulars, they did remarkable well to restrict an outfit who looked every bit a team that would wrestle back a Premier League title they surrendered to Chelsea last term to just two goals.

Of course it also did not help the Wearsiders' chances that they happened to meet a rampant United on a particularly good day neither.

At times, it was like watching a parent scold a spoilt child for having a sneaky peek at their presents before December 25, while, on the other hand, United looked as if they had been given a new football for Christmas and weren't letting anyone play with it, such was their dominance.

Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov and Anderson, in particular, were irresistible and it would be fair to say the best of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City would have found it difficult to live with the cunning and guile provided by the quartet in the United engine room.

Sunderland were without the suspended Lee Cattermole, the ineligible Danny Welbeck, the injured Kieron Richardson and JohnMensah for the trip to the NorthWest.

In came Cristian Riveros, Steed Malbranque, Bolo Zenden and Ahmed Elmohanady in their place from a side that defeated Bolton 1-0 at the Stadium of Light last week.

In truth, the visitors should have been out of sight in the opening 20 minutes, so they should be commended for remaining in the contest for as long as they did.

Amixture of poor finishing, the good fortune of both post and bar playing for the visitors and Craig Gordon's shotstopping skills ensured that only one goal separated the sides at the break.

A rejuvenated Berbatov gave the hosts the lead when he headed past Gordon from close range after Rooney set him up with a cross that screamed "bury me" in the fifth minute. But, while the England striker will claim the plaudits for the quality assist, it was Ryan Giggs' superb run which broke the back of the goal.

And from then on it was obvious there was only going to be one winner.

Rooney almost got himself on the scoresheet with a sublime chip five minutes later, again, thanks to more superb work from Giggs, and a scrambling Gordon was relieved to see the ball drop just over the bar.

Itwas reminiscent of Eric Cantona's deft effort when he dinked the ball over Lionel Perez in precisely the same spot in 1996.

Berbatov then thumped a post moments later as United threatened to run riot, while Gordon's woodwork was rattled again, in the 15th minute, this time by Anderson.

It seemed only a matter of time before the Scot's goal was breached once more.

Bruce pulled an unproductive Darren Bent back into the left of midfield and strung five across the middle of the park as he tried to stem the tide, but it still did not prevent the excellent Giggs from bringing out a superb save from Gordon in the 20th minute.

The Red Devils continued to dominate the rest of the half but could not find a second killer goal thanks to some dogged defending from the Black Cats.

After the break it looked as if Sunderland had regrouped and found some composure.

The visitors had not threatened Edwin van der Sar's goal in the opening period, yet with little over 30 seconds on the clock Asamoah Gyan flashed a shot over the bar after Malbranque had chanced his arm from 25 yards.

The Belgian's deflection landed at the feet of Gyan, who fired his effort over from a difficult acute angle.

It proved to be the closest Bruce's side would go to pulling a goal back as Ferguson's side restricted the visitors to shots from distance.

United then stepped up their dominance of the ball after the Ghana international had threatened to score, and it came as no surprise when Berbatov netted his second goal via Anton Ferdinand's backside, which sent Gordon the wrong way, to effectively kill the game as a contest.

The defeat was anything but a disgrace and the result should be looked at as nothing more than a setback. Sunderland are still on track to record their best finish to a Premier League season in ten years.

And with home games against Blackpool and Blackburn next week, there's nothing to stop Sunderland cementing their place in the top six with two victories and pushing on for a place in the Europa League, which has eluded the Wearsiders in the past, by the end of the season.

MATCHFACTS

Goals

1-0: Berbatov (5, Berbatov peeled off and Rooney picked him out at back post to head past Gordon at his near post)

2-0: Berbatov (57, The Bulgarian striker's shot deflected off Anton Ferdinand's backside and sent Gordon the wrong way)

Bookings: Bardsley (23, foul), Meyler (73, foul),

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire): Nothing too taxing for the match official. He could have sent off Meyler but sensibly chose to hand out a yellow 8

Attendance: 75,269

MAN UTD (4-5-1): Van der Sar 6 ; R. Da Silva 7, Ferdinand 7, Vidic 7, Evra 7; Park 7, Anderson 8 (Gibson, 63), Carrick 7, Giggs 7 (Macheda 63); BERBATOV 8 (Hernandez 82), Rooney 8. Subs (not used): Kuszczak, Neville, Bebe, Smalling.

SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): 5Gordon: Positioning was suspect for the opening goal but later redeemed himself with several good blocks;

5 Elmohamady: Found Giggs a constant handful on the flank

5 Onuoha: A hard day at the office but coped reasonably well considering the quality on display

5 Ferdinand: Another who can count himself unfortunate to face Rooney and Berbatov on a good day

5 Bardsley: Decent display in difficult circumstances: 5Zenden: Overrun in the middle of the park

5 Henderson: Tidy in possession when on the ball but unfortunately spent most of the match chasing shadows

4 Riveros: The midfielder was totally overwhelmed by his illustrious counterparts 5Malbranque: Just could not get involved;

4 Gyan: Did not get a sniff

4 Bent: Just did not get any service from his team-mates

Subs:

Meyler (for Bent 69) Lucky to stay on the pitch with a late tackle on da Silva 4

Cook (for Malbranque 82)

Angeleri (for Zenden 88)

(not used): Mignolet (gk), da Silva, Adams, Reed

MAN OF THE MATCH

DIMITAR Berbatov - Two quality finishes from a striker in irresistible form