Manchester United 5 - 0 Stoke

It was a case of 50 for Sir Alec; celebrating fifty years in football, but 100 not out for Cristiano Ronaldo, who took his goal tally to 101 since he joined the club in 2003.

They used to say that 'no one could bend it like Beckham', but that is no longer true as the Portuguese winger has proved on many occasions. In this game the long throw 'secret weapon' of Rory Delap was neutralized by the sheer brilliance of the opposition in general, and Ronaldo in particular.

Only three minutes into the game a Faye challenge on Tevez resulted in a free kick from about 25 yards out. Ronaldo strode forward and struck a wicked, curling, swerving, ball past Sorenson and the writing was on the wall. Minutes later he narrowly missed with another shot on goal that was just blocked by Faye.

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Immediately prior to the interval Ronaldo again took a hand in the proceedings, and delivered the ball to Carrick, who obliged with United's second goal. It seemed that the game had slipped away from Stoke which was confirmed when Berbatov made it three up from a Tevez pass in the 49th minute. It was now a question of how much worse their plight would get before the finish.

Tevez and Ronaldo had further chances; before newcomer Welbeck scored a superb goal, and it seems that United have some great new talent eagerly waiting for their chance to emerge. Just before the final whistle Ronaldo stepped up again to deliver another free kick through a rickety wall and into the net. United move up to third in the Premiership and will not surrender their crown without one hell of a battle!

This game wasn't all about Ronaldo, but in this sort of form he is a pleasure to watch, and certainly delivers the goods. Rooney, was missing with a chest infection, and Rio Ferdinand was also on the sidelines. It seems that Fabio Capello will have to manage without them both in the England international against Germany on Wednesday!

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Manchester United 5-0 Stoke
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Manchester United 5-0 Stoke