Manchester United... 2 Deportivo La Coruna... 0: Manchester United's bid to reach the European Cup quarter finals for a seventh successive season is rapidly turning into a showcase for the talents of Ruud van Nistelrooy. Having bludgeoned Basel with two goals in Switzerland a fortnight ago, he emulated that feat again last night as Deportivo La Coruna were out-fought, out-thought and eventually outplayed.

Van Nistelrooy has now equalled Andy Cole's record of having scored 18 Champions League goals for the club and, on a night of individual and collective success, it will need a capitulation now for Alex Ferguson's side not to reach the knock-out stages.

Two games against Juventus lurk beyond the winter hibernation, a six-day spell in February that will be critical in determining the outcome of Group D.

There have been many factors in the United renaissance. Juan Sebastian Veron's own resurgence has been one of the more endearing aspects. Yet, without any doubt, the one thing that Ferguson can cling to more than any other is the imperious form of his leading scorer. Van Nistelrooy, maybe even more than Roy Keane right now, feels irreplaceable.

The Dutchman now has 53 goals in 66 starts for United and Ferguson knows he possesses the most prolific striker in Europe at the moment. Van Nistelrooy needed only seven minutes to demonstrate his executioner's nerve. Yet, as someone who craves the highest standards of himself, he will have been unhappy after forfeiting two more inviting chances to add to his tally before half-time. Certainly there is a case that United's early domination merited more than the header which Van Nistelrooy directed expertly beyond the goalkeeper Juanmi.

Paul Scholes's cross was crisp and accurate but the uninitiated might still have thought Van Nistelrooy, sandwiched between two defenders, was only an outsider to reach the ball. Such negativity, however, does not enter the Dutchman's mind. His jump was timed to perfection, hanging in the air and picking out the bottom corner from eight yards.

The flipside of scoring so early was that it invited a response from Deportivo. The Spaniards had been uncharacteristically reserved throughout the opening exchanges but as the game developed they began to move forward stealthily, attacking with the fluency that makes them one of the most beguiling sides in La Liga.

If Ferguson was enamoured by his side's first-half display, he will also have been troubled by the visitors' gathering sense of adventure and, in particular, the frequency with which United's defence was being stretched. Yet Van Nistelrooy could not be denied much longer. Denied by the linesman after following up Ryan Giggs's shot against the post, he underlined the suspicion once again that Deportivo's defence is anything but watertight.

Scholes instigated another breakaway and after his shot was beaten out by Juanmi, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer turned the ball back into Van Nistelrooy's path for him to lash in a scruffy yet vital goal.

Veron, who will miss the trip to Turin after picking up his second booking of the competition, produced the game's most exquisite moment with an impudent cross from behind his standing foot in the first half, leading to another disallowed Van Nistelrooy effort, but this was a night when he was willing to combine inspiration with perspiration. It says much about the attitude at Old Trafford right now.

MAN UTD: Barthez, Gary Neville, Brown, Silvestre, O'Shea (Beckham 81), Solskjaer, Phil Neville (Forlan 81), Veron, Giggs, Scholes, van Nistelrooy (Richardson 89). Subs not used: Ricardo, Chadwick, Stewart, Pugh. Booked: Veron, Solskjaer. Goals: van Nistelrooy 7, 55.

DEP LA CORUNA: Juanmi, Capdevila, Cesar, Romero, Scaloni, Mauro Silva, Sergio, Amavisca (Tristan 45), Valeron (Acuna 65), Victor (Luque 75), Makaay. Subs not used: Mallo, Manuel Pablo, Donato, Hector. Booked: Capdevila.

Referee: T Hauge (Norway).