Manchester United Stay Top as Chicharito Brace Punishes Wasteful Wigan

Wigan Athletic 0 - 4 Manchester United

The Red Devils were simply irresistible as they put a grumpy Wigan to bed without much afterthought earlier today at the DW stadium.

Sir Alex Ferguson made a bold decision from the start by selecting Mexican international Javier Hernandez, to start ahead of top goal scorer Dimitar Berbatov. With his eye on the tough schedule ahead which sees United face Chelsea and Liverpool in the same week, Ferguson opted to rest the prolific Berbatov.

To their credit, Wigan came out in a determined manner as the endeavour and craft of their midfield created a stream of good chances as the first half wore on. Chances that all went to waste, as the flair of Roberto Martinez's system consistently lacked real killer- instinct in the final third.

Some killer instinct was on display elsewhere on the pitch when an elbow, off-the-ball, from Wayne Rooney went unpunished by referee Mark Clattenburg. This added to the feisty nature of the contest, during a first half which featured a number of physical confrontations between John O'Shea and Victor Moses and Scholes and McCarthy. 

Nothing was more guilt-edged than the chance created by a rare defensive lapse by Paul Scholes whose back pass gifted Wigan a chance to break the deadlock. However, Victor Moses shot straight at pensioner Edwin Van der Sar, who had a fantastic match, when the goal was at his mercy.

As the half wore on, Van der Sar thwarted the Wigan attack again, spreading himself well to deny James McCarthy from six yards out. Look out for the delicious lay-off that set McCarthy up for this chance, as it should feature on a few highlight packages in the coming hours.

Each wasted opportunity saw United grow in confidence and as the game developed so did the Red Devils' stranglehold on it. The play of Fletcher and Scholes in the middle propelled United, who took control of the contest from that point onwards and never looked back. 

The responsibility up front fell to the 22-year-old Chicharito, who immediately repaid the faith shown in him by the manager by putting the finishing touches on a free-flowing counter attack, which resulted in the first goal of the afternoon.

The seemingly-rejuvenated Wayne Rooney connected with Nani in the midfield, as a nice exchange of passes opened up the Wigan left side like a jack in the box. Nani's running and fine first time cross, then found the streaking Hernandez at the near post, who effortlessly slid the ball into the near corner before wheeling away to celebrate his achievement.

The second half illustrated the momentum with which United finished the first, as they dominated from start to end. Hernandez got his second on the 74th minute, following a slick one-two with Rooney that left the Mexican with only the keeper to beat, after outwitting a laughable off-side trap.

Berbatov and Darron Gibson came on in the second-half and continued where the rest of the team had left off. The two substitutes combined to set-up Wayne Rooney for the third. It was especially admirable of top scorer Berbatov to set-up teammate Rooney for the third, when he would have been expected to try and add to his own tally of 19 league goals instead.

Final substitute Fabio then found himself completely unmarked at the far-post, after a curling cross eluded everyone in the box and left him with only the keeper to beat. He duly curled it past the Wigan keeper, Ali Al Habsi, for the fourth and final nail in the Wigan coffin.

United now sits atop the Premier League pile with a four point cushion over their nearest competitors, Arsenal, who are set to feature in the Carling Cup final this Sunday.

Manchester United - Hernandez (17, 74) Rooney (84) Fabio (87)