Manchester United 2-0 Fulham: Nani Helps the Red Devils Widen the Gap Up Top

It was "no Rooney, no problem" for Manchester United today, with the Red Devils calmly dispatching Fulham at Old Trafford 2-0.

Nani set up Berbatov and Valencia for both goals, while Fulham rarely looked like they would be troubling United's grip on their record 19th English top-flight title.

United are now 10 points clear at the top of the table, with Arsenal set to play Blackpool at Bloomfiled Road tomorrow while Chelsea moves to within 11 points of United following their win over Wigan Athletic today.

Fulham drops down to the 11 spot of the Premier League table, with West Bromwich Albion leapfrogging the Cottagers following an exciting 3-2 victory at Sunderland today.

Nani Dominates The First Half

Berbatov put United up 1-0 at the 11 minute mark with a lovely right footed shot from the top center of the Fulham box that beat Schwarzer to the near corner of the net.

Nani started the whole affair with a tight run at the center of the Fulham defense.  His dribbling was second to none and found the Bulgarian to his left following a quick give and go with Anderson right before the top of the box.

Fulham could have made an appeal for offside with Berbatov looking to be a half step off the Cottagers back line during Nani's release, but Salcido failed to get his arm up at the near side, making it was too close to call.

United dominated for the remainder of the half, going up 2-0 after Nani made a spectacular blazing run past Baird at the far side, catching Schwarzer way out in no man's land.

His tight angle chip shot from the left side of the Cottagers' box was deflected behind by Aaron Hughes before Valencia headed it home at the near post.

United were lacking a bit of energy and menace due to Rooney serving the first part of a two match ban for his expletive laced celebration during United's victory over West Ham last weekend, but Nani, Berbatov, and Valencia gave United plenty of beautiful attacking football up top and out wide.

Meanwhile, United's starting midfield trio of Anderson, Scholes, and Gibson did a solid job of maintaining possession while quickly dealing the ball towards Fulham's half of the pitch.

The few times they were caught off guard, Kuszczak and United's back four rarely had trouble containg the Fulham attack. 

Smalling was the best of the back four by a mile. Along with defending well, he always rose above Fulham's defense during set pieces and broke up the Cottagers' counter attack on several occasions while tracking back.

United had a decent batch of chances during the second half, but outside of a few long range efforts, pretty much played it safe until the final whistle blew.

Fulham Just Never Found Their Rhythm

The Cottagers rarely troubled the Red Devils.  Kakuta beat his marker in the opening minute but Kuszczak easily covered up his low right-footed shot at the far post.

Zamora had their next best chance of the first half after getting past a slipping Vidic at the top of the box.  However, he failed to get the ball across his body and his right footed shot went sailing over the top corner of the net.

Baird had a nightmare of a day trying to mark Nani, but cannot be entirely to blame with Kakuta failing to properly track back and help contain the Portuguese international.

The introduction of Eidur Gudjohnsen for Moussa Dembele gave the Cottagers a much needed veteran presence up top, with the Icelandic international forcing Kuszczak into full stretch as his right footed shot went just wide of the near post.

Fulham created only a few more chances during the second half.  Their best chance to get on the board came via a free kick at the top of the United box following a poor challenge by Vidic on Kakute.  Sadly, Zamora's curving shot went over the top of the far corner of the net.

The absence of the injured Damien Duff, who was spectacular during their 2-2 draw at home against United earlier this season, really left Fulham without a lot of creativity and proper width.

Kakuta is just not quite up to par while Dempsey had a hard time trying to attack the center of the United core from the side. 

Etuhu was more or less anonymous during his entire time on the pitch forcing Danny Murphy into putting on an overmatched one man show against United's strong midfield trio.  Scwarzer and the defense, on the other hand, were nothing short of mediocre at best.

Man Of The Match

Everybody put in a solid days work for United today, but Nani was a head above the rest.

His scintillating runs down the left sideline tormented the Fulham defense, while his tight dribbling run at the center of the Cottagers midfield and defense to set up the opening goal was nothing short of world class.

The Portuguese international's performance today gave his bid for PFA Young Player of the Year a serious boost.

Next Up For Manchester United and Fulham

The Red Devils don't feature in the Premier League again until April 19, where they travel to St. James' Park to face Newcastle United. 

Betwen now and the though, they will be welcoming Wayne Rooney back into the attacking fold on Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match up with Chelsea at Old Trafford.  The Red Devils then have a derby match up with Manchester City at Wembley next Saturday to decide who moves on to the FA Cup final.

Fulham, on the other hand, have less crowded schedule.  They have next weekend off before traveling up to the Molineux Stadium on April 23 to play my poor Wolves.