Wayne Rooney netted a second consecutive hat-trick to inspire Manchester United to a 5-0 thumping of Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.

United roar back to the top of the table with five-star showing

Wayne Rooney netted another hat-trick to inspire Manchester United to a 5-0 thumping of Bolton at the Reebok Stadium. England ace Rooney followed up his hat-trick in the 8-2 mauling of Arsenal with another superb treble to send United to the top of the table and become only the fourth player in Premier League history to score consecutive hat-tricks Javier Hernandez marked his first start of the season with a brace to complete another comprehensive win for Sir Alex Ferguson's in-form troops. The win helped United set a new record for most goals scored by a Premier League side after four games of a season with the champions having netted 18 so far this term. Indeed, the only downside for Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of another UEFA Champions League quest getting under way against Benfica on Wednesday was the suspected broken foot midfielder Tom Cleverley sustained in an early collision with Kevin Davies, and an injury to Jonny Evans. Although he endorsed David de Gea yesterday, it was claimed Ferguson was having extreme doubts over whether to drop the 20-year-old into the maelstrom of the Reebok Stadium, even now Owen Coyle has smoothed off quite a lot of that infamous abrasive edge. As it turned out, the United boss need not have worried. It was first-half stoppage time before Bolton produced a cross that tested De Gea's mettle, by which time the visitors were three up, with the only doubt over victory concerning how many they would get. Four minutes was all it took for United to rediscover the scoring form that devastated Arsenal a fortnight ago.

Opener

Nani danced down the right wing and when he flashed over a low cross, Hernandez left Gary Cahill standing with some exemplary movement before nicking the ball home at the near post. Davies tried to lead by example but a crunching tackle on Cleverley, which led to the young midfielder's early exit and quite possibly a lengthy absence from the game, and an equally forceful challenge on Patrice Evra, which earned the veteran striker his 100th Premier League caution, brought Ferguson to his feet in fury. The next time Ferguson was venting his frustration was at Hernandez, for showboating, by which time Rooney had taken centre stage. Twelve months ago, the United forward was in the middle of his own personal hell. Now it is as though all that trouble never happened. He took a leaf out of Hernandez's book when he netted a carbon copy of his strike partner's early effort. Jones deserved much of the credit for the quick thinking that allowed him to retake possession after finding Nani with a throw, then fizz over a cross that Rooney tucked home. It was evidence of Jones' intelligence. Minutes later, the teenager was showing off his skills. Moved into a right-back role Chris Smalling performed so well in last month that it brought him two England caps, Jones began a gallop on halfway that took him weaving into the Bolton area. Had he found a finish as well, the former Blackburn man would have been celebrating possibly the best goal he would score in his entire career, as well as the first. Instead, Jussi Jaaskelainen played spoilsport, keeping the ball out with his foot but diverting it straight to Rooney, who stroked into the far corner. Hernandez had another ruled out for offside before the half-time whistle blew but he wasn't to be denied for long.