LONDON - Dimitar Berbatov mengakui kehadiran semula Wayne Rooney menjadi faktor utama yang membantu dia meledakkan lima gol ketika Manchester United membelasah Blackburn 7-1 pada aksi Liga Perdana England, Sabtu lalu.

Pada pertemuan tersebut, penyerang Bulgaria itu turut menamatkan kemarau jaringan sebanyak 10 perlawanan.

Ini kerana, kali terakhir Berbatov menjaringkan gol adalah ketika meledakkan hatrik untuk membantu United menewaskan Liverpool 3-2 pada September lalu.

"Sudah tentu ia sesuatu yang baik. Dia (Rooney) adalah seorang pemain yang mengetahui corak permainan saya dan saya mengenali- nya," kata Berbatov.

"Tetapi kami telah bekerja keras pada sesi latihan. Kadangkala, kamu memperoleh hari yang mana segala-galanya menjadi."

Sebelum ini, pengurus United, Alex Ferguson tidak menyenaraikan Berbatov pada beberapa aksi terdahulu kerana dia dikatakan tidak berada pada prestasi terbaik.

"Penyerang tidak akan merasakan dia telah menjalankan tugas dengan baik selagi dia tidak menjaringkan gol. Berbatov berjaya melakukannya."

Untuk rekod, Berbatov menjadi pemain keempat selain Andy Cole, Alan Shearer dan Jermain Defoe yang berjaya menjaringkan lima gol dalam satu perlawanan sepanjang sejarah Liga Perdana England. - Agensi

Manchester United destroyed Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford with a 7-1 victory that sends them to the top of the Premier League table

Wayne Rooney made his first league start for the club in two months, but it was Dimitar Berbatov who answered his own critics emphatically by scoring five goals to end his 10-match scoring drought.

Berbatov claimed a brace in the first half - with Park Ji-sung adding another before the break - before the Bulgarian netted three more in the second half, with Nani also getting on the scoresheet.

The drubbing sends United back above Arsenal - who were briefly top following their earlier win at Aston Villa - and also Chelsea, who can return to the summit when they travel to Newcastle on Sunday.

United were ahead inside two minutes when Blackburn failed to clear their lines and Nani's cross was steered skilfully past Paul Robinson by Berbatov. It was the Bulgarian's first goal in 11 matches, since his hat-trick against Liverpool back in September.

Rooney and Berbatov continuously linked up well as United thoroughly dominated proceedings, and the inevitable second came midway through the half.

Park surged forward before finding Rooney on the edge of the D, and the England striker played a perfectly-weighted return pass into the Korean's path for him to lift a delightful finish over Robinson.

Rovers boss Sam Allardyce replaced the poor Herold Goulon with David Hoillett soon after, but the match was over as a contest when Berbatov gratefully received Pascal Chimbonda's woefully underhit back pass to fire in his second and United's third in the 27th minute.

Berbatov could have claimed his hat-trick just before the break when his mesmeric dribble into the area was halted by Michel Salgado's block, but referee Mark Clattenburg denied the appeals and the Spanish defender, already on a yellow card, stayed on the pitch.

As things panned out after the break, Salgado may wish he had been given his marching orders.

Just as he scored early in the first half, Berbatov scored again two minutes after the restart when he played a delightful ball out to Nani with the outside of his boot and continued his run. Nani teed Berbatov up with a square pass that he fired into the top corner to claim his hat-trick.

Nani then claimed one of his own right from the kick-off when he cut inside and curled a great finish into the far top corner.

The Portuguese was in electric form on the right wing, and he almost laid a chance on a plate for Rooney after another searing run, but Robinson was off his line to block the pass along the edge of the six-yard box.

Berbatov joined Alan Shearer, Jermain Defoe and former United striker Andy Cole in the club of men to score five goals in a single Premier League match when, after lashing the loose ball into the net after a cross rebounded off Park, he had an attempted pass blocked by Ryan Nelsen which bounced back to him, and he finished from a tight angle with aplomb.

Christopher Samba scored a consolation goal for Rovers with a header from Josh Morris's cross after hitting the bar seconds earlier, before Berbatov was denied becoming the first player to grab a six goals in a Premier League match when Robinson saved his header late on.

That was one of only two shots on target that United did not convert in an awesome display that extended their unbeaten season in fearsome fashion.

Wayne Rooney converted a late penalty to guide Manchester United to a 1-0 win over Rangers and clinch qualification to the last 16 of the Champions League on a bitterly cold night at Ibrox.

The striker was still not at his sharpest but marked his first start since the high-profile contract wrangle with the winner and a joyous celebration in front of the away fans.

United controlled a lot of the game but struggled to find a way through the home side's determined defence with 40-year-old David Weir in formidable mood.

But Fabio was kicked in the face by Steven Naismith with three minutes left, after the Red Devils had been denied a clear spot-kick only two minutes in, and Rooney sent Allan McGregor the wrong way from the spot.

United should have had a penalty as early as the second minute when Dimitar Berbatov was tripped from behind by Steven Davis. Referee Massimo Busacca, even with the help of an official behind the goal, somehow thought otherwise.

It was a scary moment for the Gers but they were rarely troubled for a long spell afterwards as McGregor caught a tame header from Berbatov from a Fabio cross in a rare moment of activity for the keeper.

The Red Devils were caught napping at a Davis free-kick as Weir nodded on for Kenny Miller but the lone striker couldn't get any direction on his header and it failed to work Edwin van der Sar.

With Berbatov looking at his moody worst, United failed to make the most of their possession although Nani mustered a toe-poked shot that flew well over the top after a one-two with Michael Carrick.

Five minutes before the interval, Rooney came close by leaping to meet a Fabio cross and clipping the top of the bar with a header. Although it never looked likely to go in, it was a sign that he is capable of rediscovering his top form.

Soon afterwards, Miller had another great opening for the hosts as he collected a Naismith pass and bore down on van der Sar's goal. From an improbable angle, he opted to shoot against the Dutchman's legs rather than squaring to an unmarked Vladimir Weiss and it was poor judgement on the forward's part.

For all United's superiority in terms of keeping the ball, their probing was failing to hurt the Rangers rearguard and Walter Smith's side seemed capable of snatching a goal either on the break or from a set-piece.

In the second half, Rooney swept a free-kick wide after Nani bought the set-piece from young Kyle Hutton and the England striker then sent a brave header to McGregor after beating Weir to the ball.

Berbatov continued to toil as his sliced volley was embarrassingly bad from a Ryan Giggs centre but the Bulgarian combined with Rooney to set up Carrick, only for the midfielder to fire unconvincingly against McGregor from a promising position.

At the other end, hesitancy by Jonny Evans let in Naismith and he got a toe to Richard Foster's through ball but Van der Sar was in close proximity and blocked well.

It was another warning to United but they carried the greater threat with Nani picking up a misplaced pass from Weiss and driving against McGregor's legs before Rooney ballooned a poor attempt into the stands.

Berbatov had a shot blocked by the impressive Steven Davis and Rooney dived to head Giggs's cross wide when the Welshman returned the ball into the danger zone as it looked as though a goal would never come.

Rooney again showed his touch has not returned as he swiped at a volley that barely reached McGregor following a neat scooped pass from Berbatov.

Just when the game appeared to be drifting towards another goalless draw, Fabio threw himself at a diving header inside the box and was caught by Naismith's boot. Referee Busacca pointed to the spot and booked Naismith - much to the home team's frustration. Rooney kept his cool to steer the ball into the corner of the net and he charged off to slide in front of the travelling supporters.

The England striker almost created a second when Kirk Broadfoot sliced his cross over his own goal with substitute Javier Hernandez lurking and United comfortably held out for the remainder of the match.

So United progress and need to avoid a defeat by two or more goals to Valencia to top the group. A clean sheet will see the three-times winners set a new record for not conceding a goal throughout the group stages.

Rangers at least have the consolation of Europa League football and the knowledge that they competed well and stifled United over the two games.

All the focus will be on Rooney and this is a step in the right direction in terms of winning over his critics.

MANCHESTER, England - Edwin van der Sar berharap Manchester United dapat memburu mata pada perlawanan Liga Perdana, sekali gus mengatasi kesukaran meraih kemenangan. 

United akan menentang Aston Villa hari ini, selepas seri tanpa jaringan dengan Manchester City, Rabu lepas.

Bagaimanapun penjaga gol kebangsaan Belanda itu, van der Sar, tidak percaya keputusan tersebut akan memberi impak pada kedudukan ketika penghujung musim nanti, dalam usaha untuk mendapatkan kejuaraan dari Chelsea. 

Keputusan seri pada perlawanan itu adalah yang kelima dicatatkan oleh United dalam Liga Perdana musim ini menyebabkan pasukan itu tercicir 10 mata.

''Keputusan seri sewaktu menentang Manchester City kami terima seadanya.

''Saya rasa amat kecewa dengan tujuh perlawanan pertama musim ini, apabila kita banyak mendapat keputusan seri, kerana itu kami kurang mendapat mata.

''Kami pernah mendapat keputusan seri ketika menentang Everton, Fulham dan West Brom dan beberapa lagi pasukan,'' kata van der Sar.

Bagaimanapun, United masih berada pada landasan kejuaraan, kerana kutipan mata yang diperolehi masih tidak jauh ketinggalan berbanding pendahulu, Chelsea.

''Perjalanan kami masih jauh, kami masih kekal sebagai pasukan yang sukar untuk ditundukkan dan ini menjadi semangat kepada semua pemain,'' van der Sar.

Namun pertahanan Villa, James Collins tidak menggangap perlawanan menentang United sebagai sesuatu yang perlu dirisaukan. 

Pada perlawanan Rabu lepas, Collins membantu Villa menjaringkan gol kemenangan 3-2 ketika menentang Blackpool.

''Kami telah menunjukkan perwatakan yang baik ketika mencatat kemenangan ke atas Blackpool.

''Kami mempunyai skuad yang amat baik dan kami yakin mampu memberi kejutan dalam Liga Perdana.

''Semua pemain beraksi dengan baik dan menjalankan tugas masing-masing dengan sempurna,'' kata Collins.

Sementara itu, penyerang United, Wayne Rooney masih tidak dapat diturunkan pada perlawanan hari ini. - AFP

Manchester City and Manchester United played out a deeply disappointing goalless Premier League draw at Eastlands.

Neither side showed anything like enough attacking intent, and although United were marginally the better side, the match suffered from the fact that both sides were clearly satisfied with a point.

City had a chance to make a real statement about the shifting balance of power in Manchester, but showed a shocking lack of ambition - a fact emphasised by their scandalous time-wasting 94th-minute substitution of Emmanuel Adebayor for Carlos Tevez.

United, meanwhile, were content to repel City's limited threat and had the better of what chances there were, though Joe Hart was never seriously tested. They extended their unbeaten run this season to 12 matches but fell four points behind Chelsea.

Roberto Mancini's men faced the challenge of proving they have the killer instinct to match their individual quality.

The few moments of early quality came largely from men in blue. David Silva continues to grow in influence, while James Milner always impresses with his combination of application and ability, but neither could create a genuine opening.

United's star men burst fitfully into life - Nani and Dimitar Berbatov are consistently inconsistent, while Paul Scholes lacked the space to exert his usual influence.

It had been feared the trio would not play, but for all Alex Ferguson's portentious talk of a virus ripping through his squad, it was never likely that his leading lights would miss this one.

Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Darren Fletcher, Berbatov and Scholes all started after making a quick recovery that led cynics to question the seriousness of the malady.

The only major absentees were Wayne Rooney - at boot camp in Oregon - and Ryan Giggs, who missed his first Manchester derby since 1991, ending a 33-match streak.

Javier Hernandez was consigned to the bench and Michael Carrick came in as United looked to match up against City's strong three-man central midfield.

When the Mexican did come on, it was at Berbatov's expense, with Ferguson unwilling to risk two men up front.

The game reflected this caution, barely supplying a single moment of note in either half, as the players failed to match the passion of the pre-match rendition of 'Blue Moon' that shook Eastlands.

Tevez forced Edwin van der Sar into a diving save with a free-kick, though the goalkeeper would have been embarrassed had it beaten him.

Otherwise, it was a midfield slog. Neither side attacked with enough pace, while expert defending from Vidic in particular, but also City's Vincent Kompany, snuffed out what half-chances there were.

Scholes saw a yellow card for one too many of his 'trademark' late challenges, while Tevez briefly squared up to Rafael in stoppage time, but tempers quickly cooled.

It felt like this match was so important to City, they dared not break their shackles. United, meanwhile, appeared to be content with a draw from the start.

The second period briefly threatened to burst into life, but never quite erupted. Berbatov tested Hart with an acrobatic volley on 57 minutes, and seconds later Tevez had another shot on target.

But both sides quickly reorganised and focused on nullifying each other - City's desperately ponderous attempts at counter-attacks making life easy for the visitors.

United's cause was not helped by losing both full-backs to injury, restricting Ferguson's scope to make substitutions - although Hernandez was the only proven attacker on the bench.

United scored stoppage-time winners in both Premier League matches against City last season, but there were no late fireworks as a hotly-anticipated derby turned into the dampest of squibs.

Park Ji-Sung's dramatic 93rd-minute strike gave Manchester United a 2-1 Premier League win against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford.

The Korean struck his second goal of the game deep in injury time squeezing a shot past Marcus Hahnemann when it looked like Wolves would claim a deserved point.

Park opened the scoring in the last minute of the first half, before former United player Sylvan Ebanks-Blake equalised on 66 minutes.

The win moves Sir Alex Ferguson's side within two points of table-toppers Chelsea, who face Liverpool on Sunday.

Owen Hargreaves, making his first start for over two years, lasted just five minutes before going off with what looked like a hamstring injury.

Hargreaves's only other appearance since playing 90 minutes against Chelsea, in September 2008, was a 30-second 'cameo' against Sunderland last season.

The England midfielder has suffered countless setbacks in his attempt to return from serious knee problems, and it must be hoped this latest issue is not serious - hamstring injuries are common among players returning from long-term absences.

However, it will no doubt intensify the voices of those who believe Hargreaves's days as a top-level footballer are effectively over.

Certainly, another injury was the last thing Ferguson needed.

Wayne Rooney, Nani and Ryan Giggs were already missing before flu struck down Dimitar Berbatov. With Paul Scholes on the bench, the consequence was that United were without their five most effective attackers, while flu also ruled out Michael Carrick and Rafael.

Bebe replaced Hargreaves and showed the odd glimpse of quality in a largely wasteful display. The winger's party piece was an attempted cross blasted high into the crowd - the kindest thing one can say is that he is a very rough diamond, and he suffered the indignity of himself being substituted for Federico Macheda on 75 minutes.

With the home side lacking ideas, Wolves dominated much of the first half.

Nenad Milijas went closest with a shot that his fellow Serbian Nemanja Vidic deflected with an outstretched toe. The ball could have gone anywhere, but bobbled just wide with Edwin van der Sar stranded.

United took the lead in the final minute before half-time, thanks to a moment of quality from Darren Fletcher.

The Scotsman played a perfect through ball to Park, who finished past Marcus Hahnemann with the help of a slight deflection off a defender's boot.

Wolves hardly deserved to be behind, and reacted strongly, starting the second half with a long spell of possession, although they could not convert that pressure into chances.

On 65 minutes, Mick McCarthy brought Ebanks-Blake on for Kevin Doyle, and within 60 seconds the substitute had scored the equaliser.

He controlled a scuffed Milijas effort, took the ball away from Vidic, turned and fired through Van der Sar's legs. Quite a moment for the former Old Trafford trainee.

Having restored parity, Wolves switched to defensive mode, getting men behind the ball and denying the home side space.

Even after Scholes was summoned from the bench, there was little creativity. Javier Hernandez was booked for diving after he stuck a leg out fishing for contact from Hahnemann, while Gabriel Obertan made a mess of an attempted overhead kick.

United had another penalty appeal turned down when Karl Henry produced a typically uncompromising challenge to take out both the ball and Park - a fine tackle, which had to be perfectly timed.

But just when United looked destined for their sixth draw in 11 Premier League games, Park got them out of jail, dribbling inside from the right and hitting a left-foot shot into the bottom-right corner.