V's For Victory

Antonio Valencia's improvement and Nemanja Vidic's power at setpieces were heralded after the pair put United in the comfort zone against Wolves.

The visitors worked hard to choke the champions, even after Wayne Rooney punished Ronald Zubar's handball by drilling home his 13th goal of the season from the penalty spot.

"We got a break with the penalty kick," admitted Sir Alex Ferguson on MUTV. "I think Wolves made it difficult for us with a good team effort. They tackled everywhere, they pressed the ball, and made it hard for us to get our continuity.

"It was comfortable in the end though. Vidic's goal settled us. He's probably our best threat at setpieces because he'll attack the ball bravely and his header was very good.

"There were one or two nice bits of football in the second half, including a marvellous third goal from Valencia. It was a terrific finish. Antonio's now got six goals and he can still improve on that because he's a very good finisher as we often see in training.

Elaborating on his Ecuadorian, Sir Alex added: "Antonio's improvement is tremendous. He's expansive in his game and he's expressing himself really well. We like to see young players coming here to develop. He's improving all the time and we're very pleased."

Valencia's strike was set up brilliantly by Dimitar Berbatov, who hooked the ball over his shoulder into the winger's path. Although the Bulgarian had a largely frustrating night, this flash of genius did not go unnoticed on the United bench.

"Only a player like Berbatov, with the imagination and skill he's got, could produce something like that," praised Sir Alex.