Manchester United Vs. Portsmouth Result Report

United moved back to the top of the Premier League with an emphatic victory over beleaguered Portsmouth at Old Trafford.

Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Carrick struck for the Reds, while own-goals from Pompey's Anthony Vanden Borre and Marc Wilson piled more misery on the Premier League's basement side and assured the champions of a healthy goal difference boost.

Although Avram Grant's side threatened briefly during the first half, United mustered a five-goal spell in under 30 minutes either side of the interval to swat aside any notion of the visitors springing an almighty upset.

Playing on the 52nd anniversary of Munich, the match was preceded by an immaculately observed minute's silence. Then, from the first whistle, the two teams both firmly encamped in Portsmouth's half for the opening 10 minutes.

Although the visitors' pragmatic ploy created a possession monopoly for United, time and again a Pompey body would block a shot or the Reds' final ball would fail to pierce the massed ranks of defensive bodies, and it took 12 minutes for any real brush with an advantage. A short corner reached Gary Neville, and the skipper's inch-perfect cross was headed fractionally past the far upright by Jonny Evans, with David James motionless.

That scare sparked the visitors into a modicum of attacking activity, however. Former United youth striker Danny Webber broke away and slipped a pass to Belgian right-back Vanden Borre, whose powerful shot was beaten away by Edwin van der Sar. From the resulting corner, the Dutchman was called into another smart stop by Nadir Belhadj's stinging low shot.

Pompey's approach remained largely cautious, with Richard Hughes superbly screening his defence. When required, the midfielder even mucked in deep inside his own box, making one vital block after a flowing United move had culminated in Rooney bursting into the area.

With United committed to ceaseless attack, a Pompey breakaway nearly brought the opener. The visitors burst through with four attackers to three United defenders, one of whom, Evans, sprinted back behind Edwin van der Sar and superbly cleared Belhadj's shot off the line.

In the same passage of play, United somehow failed to break the deadlock when Neville burst into the Pompey box and pulled back for Berbatov, who fired wide from just six yards out. The disbelief which seized the Bulgarian's face was shared by almost all inside Old Trafford.

With five minutes of the half remaining, however, the goal finally came. Another short corner was shifted to Darren Fletcher, and his perfect cross gave Rooney the simple task of nodding home from the six-yard line.

The goal liberated the Reds from any nerves and frustration which were beginning to appear, and the scoreline was doubled on the stroke of half-time. Nani, who continued his fine recent form despite being shifted over to the left wing, teased Vanden Borre and drilled in a cross which hit the Belgian, deflected towards goal and trickled over the line to embarrass James.

Half-time brought temporary respite for Pompey, but United's determination to go top of the table in style continued unabated as the second period began. Michael Carrick added a third goal when the visitors failed to clear their lines, and the midfielder's 25-yard effort cracked in off the underside of the crossbar, albeit via a sizeable deflection off Hughes.

Three very soon became four when Berbatov collected the ball inside the visitors' area, fought off challenges and meandered back outside the box, before turning and unleashing a superb shot inside James' far post. The goal was the Bulgarian's final contribution before being replaced by Mame Biram Diouf.

The change constituted one third of a triple substitution, with Rooney and Fletcher making way for Michael Owen and Darron Gibson, with the latter soon testing out James' handling abilities with a rasping 30-yard effort.

A fifth goal duly arrived on 69 minutes, and once again a Pompey defender made the telling touch. Patrice Evra swung in a perfectly-flighted cross which Nani could only glance on, and Wilson emphatically hammered a finish high into his own goal.

Despite the evident dejection in the Pompey ranks, United mercilessly continued to press for more goals. Diouf spurned the clearest opening, when he did well to reach Owen's through-ball and make space for the shot, but fired wastefully over the bar.

Regardless, a point clear and three goals ahead of Carlo Ancelotti's Chelsea represents a highly satisfactory afternoon's work, and the free-scoring champions are clicking ominously into gear as the season enters its nitty-gritty period.