Tottenham see red as United breeze by

A lot of wind has been expended about the situation at the top of the Premiership this week, and on a night when a virtual gale swept around Old Trafford, there was something appropriate about the way Manchester United breezed back into first place.

It had always been unlikely that Arsenal's north London neighbours would do them a favour at a ground where they have not won since the foundation of the Premiership. But any chance that the far-fetched could happen faded as soon as David Beckham opened the scoring in the 15th minute and it disappeared when Mauricio Taricco was shown a straight red card just before half-time for pulling back Paul Scholes on the edge of the Tottenham area.

That meant another penalty for Ruud van Nistelrooy and left Spurs needing to score three with 10 men in the second half. United had come back from three down at White Hart Lane in September but Spurs were never going to do anything remotely comparable.

Beckham made it 3-0 with his 12th of the season and Van Nistelrooy added a fourth, his 31st. It was hardly a contest by then.

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer injured and Ryan Giggs rested on the bench, Roy Keane returned after missing the Derby County game, and ahead of him Diego Forlan was given a first start.

His initial touches combined the deft and the daft, but he was not alone because of the wind, though for the opening few minutes it did seem to favour the visitors more. Shots by Simon Davies and Gustavo Poyet had Fabien Barthez worried, the second effort being created by Teddy Sheringham, given a warm reception on his first return to Manchester.

But generosity of spirit lasted a mere quarter of an hour. Van Nistelrooy had barely touched the ball but, showing great close control and awareness near the touchline, the Dutchman set Beckham sprinting clear of Ben Thatcher. Both men were charging in to the wind and keeping the ball was a struggle in itself. But Beckham managed it, and switching it to his left, he found the bottom far corner.

The game began to lose its shape, understandable in the conditions, but it was sparked back into life three minutes before the interval when the referee Mike Riley sent off Taricco for a pull on Scholes as he chased a Van Nistelrooy ball into the Tottenham area.

There was no doubt about Taricco's tug, but what caused consternation within Tottenham ranks was that not only did they think Scholes was outside the box, Riley judged Taricco to be the last man and produced the red card. Tottenham complained - Poyet was booked for doing so - as Van Nistelrooy belted in the penalty.

Glenn Hoddle's task now was as much about preserving self-belief prior to Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea as it was about taking something from the night. Unsurprisingly Rebrov made way as Les Ferdinand came on to give Tottenham at least a physical presence in attack.

Ferdinand did that with his first touch, heading a Poyet cross and then reacting to the dropping ball quicker than United's defence. Unfortunately for Ferdinand, he met the ball on the volley and sent it ballooning into the stands.

But a measure of resistance had been shown, even if United almost immediately made it three when Laurent Blanc stung Neil Sullivan from 25 yards. Shortly after that Roy Keane put Forlan clear in the Spurs area, but from close range he bent his shot around the far post.

United's numerical superiority inevitably led to a slackening of pace and Ferguson felt compelled to walk to the touchline to berate his players .

Within about 60 seconds of that, Forlan hurtled down the left, fed Van Nistelrooy in the middle who teed up Beckham to thump in his second and United's third.

Guardian service

MANCHESTER UTD: Barthez, Gary Neville (Phil Neville 69), Johnsen, Blanc, Silvestre, Beckham, Keane, Veron (Fortune 72), Scholes (Butt 72), van Nistelrooy, Forlan. Subs Not Used: Carroll, Giggs. Booked: Keane. Goals: Beckham 15, van Nistelrooy 43 pen, Beckham 64, van Nistelrooy 76.

TOTTENHAM: Sullivan, Taricco, King, Richards, Thatcher, Davies, Poyet (Perry 66), Sherwood, Ziege (Etherington 86), Sheringham, Rebrov (Ferdinand 46). Subs Not Used: Keller, Gardner. Sent Off: Taricco (42). Booked: Poyet, Sherwood, Ziege.

Referee: M Riley (Leeds).