Berba Bags Brace In Red Devils Rout

Dimitar Berbatov scored a second-half brace as Manchester United swept aside Bolton to restore their one-point advantage at the Premier League summit.

Jlloyd Samuel inadvertently handed United the initiative when he turned a Ryan Giggs cross into his own net.

Berbatov stretched the lead, turning in the rebound from a Darren Fletcher shot before flicking in Nani's cross.

Fabrice Muamba had earlier gone close for Bolton, but Nani set up substitute Darron Gibson to seal the win late on.

A point ahead in the title race at the afternoon's outset, United briefly relinquished the lead to Chelsea, who hammered Aston Villa 7-1 at Stamford Bridge, but re-established their slender advantage with a performance of growing authority.

Bolton provided stern opposition in the initial stages, weathering an early United storm and testing Edwin van der Sar's reflexes through Johan Elmander and, notably, Muamba, who drew a flying, fingertip save from the United keeper

But Samuel's own goal - the 11th that has gone in United's favour this season - was a hammer blow, and once Berbatov had tucked home to double the champions' lead in the 69th minute, the spirit slowly ebbed from Owen Coyle's side.

More daunting hurdles lie ahead for United, who now travel to Germany for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich before a Premier League summit meeting with Chelsea at Old Trafford next Saturday.

With the home leg against Bayern to follow on Wednesday week, it promises to be a season-defining period for Sir Alex Ferguson's men, and with that in mind the United manager rested both Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand.

Predictably, Rooney was the more missed of the absent duo, a point underlined by United's inability to capitalise on some fine build-up play in the initial stages.

With the evergreen combination of Paul Scholes and Giggs orchestrating the proceedings superbly in midfield, United dominated the opening quarter but, in the absence of the talismanic Rooney, initially seemed to lack a telling presence in the box.

Berbatov, the understudy for United's leading scorer, came close to breaking the deadlock with an audacious hooked effort from a narrow angle, while Jonny Evans should have done better than blast a Fletcher lay-off into the stands from close range.

Yet Bolton's resilience in the face of severe pressure came as no surprise.

For all the talk of Coyle's mission to transform his players from artisans to artists, defensive strength has been the key to the outstanding home form that has guided the club towards safety since the Scot's January appointment.

Prior to United's visit, they had kept four successive clean sheets in league clashes at the Reebok Stadium, in the process taking 10 of a possible 12 points.

But the possibility that they might maintain that impressive record, or that Coyle might mastermind a repeat of his early-season win over United with Burnley, was dashed following Samuel's unfortunate intervention.

Fed by the flamboyant Nani, Giggs centred for Fletcher only for the ball to reach Samuel, who stabbed home across the stranded Jussi Jaaskelainen

United had the lead, but the game remained in the balance, as illustrated by Ferguson's anger when Sam Ricketts, who had earlier felled Patrice Evra with a late challenge, caught Nani with a trailing arm just before the break.

An incandescent Ferguson confronted referee Martin Atkinson at half-time, although he apologised when the teams emerged for the restart.

If the United manager had calmed down, his mood no doubt improved further when Fletcher drew a sprawling save from Jaaskelainen and Berbatov tucked in the rebound.

It was the cue for United to enter processional mode.

Nani eluded the attentions of Ricketts to centre for Berbatov, who tucked home his 12th goal of the campaign with a nonchalant flick off the outside of his boot.

And when Nani repeated the trick, once again bamboozling Ricketts, Gibson - on as a substitute for Fletcher - made it four.

With Arsenal earlier held to a 1-1 draw at Birmingham, the result leaves United four points clear of the third-placed Gunners and narrowly ahead of Chelsea in their bid to claim an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League crown.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson:
"It was a real battle. I said to the referee at half-time it was supposed to be a game of football.
"He handled it the best way he could.

"You need to show composure because the ball is never out of the air, and we needed some fantastic defending at times.

"I don't know how many times Nemanja Vidic headed the ball clear but it must have been thousands."

Bolton manager Owen Coyle:
"I'm disappointed with the defeat and the manner of the defeat late on.

"That's what happens when you play against the best teams. If you switch off and gift them goals as we did you're going to be punished. But for 70 minutes of the game I thought we were terrific.

"There was a lot of things we could have done better. The scoreline flatters Manchester United - no doubt about it. We were the architects of our own downfall."

Dimitar Berbatov acknowledges the away fans after putting United 2-0 up