Good win, but little to cheer

English FA Premiership/ Manchester Utd 3 West Bromwich Albion 0: In ordinary circumstances Manchester United's supporters would look at the number of league points they have accrued this season with equal measures of smugness and satisfaction.

Unfortunately for them, these are not ordinary circumstances. Seven wins out of the last eight games is an impressive statistic but all that truly matters is the nine-point gap to Chelsea and any sense of jubilation was tempered by the result two hours earlier from Stamford Bridge.

Alex Ferguson must find it deeply demoralising that United have accumulated more points at this stage than in five of his eight title-winning seasons.

Their domestic form over the last two months is that of prospective champions but as long as Chelsea keep on their relentless path every victory at Old Trafford feels bittersweet. No sooner have the players stopped high-fiving in the centre circle than the realisation dawns that, ultimately, it has not altered anything.

Even a manager as experienced as Ferguson must be confused about whether this sort of routine win should be a cause for celebration or a time for sober reflection. Everyone connected with United must have blurred emotions right now, although Ferguson was certainly entitled to be pleased by the ease with which this win was achieved courtesy of that collectors' item, the Rio Ferdinand goal, sandwiched by efforts from two far more regular scorers, Paul Scholes and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The only surprise was that Wayne Rooney did not play more of a prominent part in a victory that was every bit as comfortable as the scoreline suggested.

Rooney, who received another player-of-the-month award for his bloated collection, flickered only sporadically on a day when others shone brightly, most notably Scholes, Ferdinand and Park Ji-sung. Everyone, in fact, seemed on top of his game with the exception of John O'Shea, whose first-half performance was thoroughly incongruous.

"All we can do is keep winning and hope something happens with Chelsea," said Ferguson. "It was a convincing display. We have come out of a bad spell in terms of home form and turned it round."

It needed a moment of drastic misfortune, however, for their opponents before United began to emphasise the gulf in status between the two clubs. Paul Robinson's departure with concussion was critical because until then he had excelled in man-marking Rooney, attaching himself to the striker like a mollusc.

"Rooney pushed him in the back and his head went into Thomas Gaardsoe's hip," said the Albion manager Bryan Robson, explaining how Robinson had slumped to the floor while defending a 28th-minute corner.

"I could tell Rooney was getting frustrated because Paul was doing a good job on him.

"He's our best player and was a big part of our game plan. It disrupted us; we switched off as soon as he went off."

Suddenly large expanses began to appear for Rooney and co to explore. The stretcher-bearers carrying a groggy Robinson had only just entered the tunnel when Ferdinand spotted one such gap and surged from defence to the right-hand side of Albion's penalty area. Park could not fully control the cross but managed to poke the ball back to Scholes. The former England midfielder had missed a far simpler chance after four minutes, squandering a free header inside the six-yard area, but this time he found his accuracy, scoring with a low and powerful left-foot drive.

Albion's preparations were now in tatters. In first-half stoppage time Ferdinand gambolled forward again, this time for a Ryan Giggs corner, and directed a twisting header into the top right-hand corner of Tomasz Kuszczak's goal. It was his second in 12 days, having waited three years for his first. Van Nistelrooy's 16th of the season arrived in the 63rd minute via a flashing header from the substitute Alan Smith's splendid cross.

By then the game had already become an exercise in damage limitation for the visitors. Ferguson waved to the crowd, beaming widely, and he will probably be smiling again tomorrow after they have faced Birmingham City at St Andrew's. But the league table dictates they are muted celebrations.

* Guardian Service