PREMIERSHIP FOOTBALL
Love him or hate him, there's no doubting that Cristiano Ronaldo has a rare and exceptional talent.
On Sunday he showed just why he was named player of last season when he blitzed Blackburn Rovers in a two minute spell to propel his side to the top of the table.
A header from a corner and a fine finish at pace sealed Rover's fate and inspired Sir Alex Ferguson to label his current crop of players as the strongest squad he's ever had in his 21 years in charge of the red devils.
The 2-0 win was United's 6th home victory of the season. They've only dropped points at Old Trafford to Reading when the Royals held the Champions to a 0-0 draw on the first day of the Premiership season.
They now sit three points about rivals Arsenal though Arsene Wegner's side do have two games in hand.
The first of those comes tonight away to Reading. In the corresponding fixture last season the Gunners won 4-0.
Underfire Reading manager Steve Coppell will be hoping his side can stop such an exhibition developing this time and pick up some much needed points themselves.
All of the chasing pack slipped up at the weekend with the exception of Liverpool.
Manchester City and Portsmouth played out a scoreless draw at Fratton Park while a late Tim Cahill overhead kick denied Chelsea all the points at Stamford Bridge.
At Anfield it took the introduction of Spanish sensation Fernando Torres to guide Liverpool towards three points against struggling Fulham.
The Londoners were holding out for a draw until the £20 million man broke the deadlock to send Anfield into euphoria.
Steven Gerrard added a second from the penalty spot as Liverpool went on to secure all three points on a 2-0 scoreline.
It was only Liverpool's second home win of the season but the three points lifts them to fifth, only six points behind Manchester United with a game in hand.
