Dimitar Berbatov helped himself to a hat-trick as Manchester United destroyed dismal Birmingham.
Hapless Birmingham hammered at Old Trafford
Dimitar Berbatov helped himself to a third hat-trick of the season as Manchester United destroyed dismal Birmingham 5-0 at Old Trafford.
The Bulgaria international needed just two minutes to open the scoring, nodding home after Ryan Giggs' corner was flicked on by John O'Shea with the Blues defence sleeping.
Roger Johnson then gifted possession to the Red Devils with Anderson feeding Wayne Rooney, who then found Berbatov to drill a low shot beyond the helpless Ben Foster.
Giggs made it 3-0 in added time before the interval after Berbatov's sliding interception and superb link-up with Rooney for what was without doubt the goal of the afternoon.
Any hopes Birmingham had of improving after the break were blown away as Edwin van der Sar's long clearance found Rooney and he fed Giggs who crossed for Berbatov to complete his treble.
Nani added a fifth when he cut inside and drilled a low left foot shot beyond Foster and in truth United could have had more as their title charge picked up pace.
Prolific
The prolific Bulgarian now has 18 goals this season and yet another match ball to go alongside those he collected against Liverpool and Blackburn earlier in the campaign.
More importantly for Sir Alex Ferguson, his side tightened their grip on top spot as the leaders extended their unbeaten run this season to 22 games ahead of Tuesday's trip to Blackpool, the first of their matches in hand.
Berbatov was denied a second virtually straight away after his opener as he strode onto Rooney's pass and fired a fierce shot at the Birmingham goal that former Red Devil Foster kept out with his feet.
And once Birmingham had not profited from an enterprising flurry of attacks, it was no surprise when the home side scored again.
If this is a season to forget, goalscoring wise, for Rooney, Berbatov is having the time of his life.
Driving through the heart of Birmingham's defence, the England star rolled a precise pass to his left, offering Berbatov the space to step inside Roger Johnson and beat Foster low at his near post.
Wide
Berbatov was close to completing his latest hat-trick on United's next attack as he watched his curling effort fly inches wide of Foster's goal.
United did score again before the break, as Berbatov slid in to rob Alexander Hleb despite being in the prone position. A couple of passes to Rooney later and his strike partner was crossing for Giggs, who rammed home at the far post.
Goal difference may yet become a factor later in the season and United had started the day better off in that regard than Mancunian rivals City. Berbatov, though, remained keen to help the cause yet further.
Yet another industrious piece of work from Rooney set his side in forward motion again. Giggs was aware enough to know where Berbatov was and, once found in a central position barely six yards out, the rest was academic.
Not even Ronaldo claimed three hat-tricks in one season for all his scoring feats. And to think, there were plenty who felt Ferguson would jettison his club record signing last summer.
United kept going and Nani's repeated attempts to find the net finally paid off 13 minutes from time, when he cut in from the right and beat Foster from 20 yards.
| Manchester United |
Team Statistics |
Birmingham City |
| 5 |
Goals |
0 |
| 3 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 8 |
Shots on Target |
1 |
| 13 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 10 |
Corners |
3 |
| 11 |
Fouls |
5 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
2 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
0 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 82.5 |
Passing Success |
78.4 |
| 12 |
Tackles |
11 |
| 83.3 |
Tackles Success |
54.5 |
| 56.7 |
Possession |
43.3 |
| 53.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
46.7 |
|
