Only an electricians' strike could have denied Manchester United the comfortable victory over West Ham United yesterday which has left Alex Ferguson's team in third place in the table, two points behind Chelsea and Aston Villa.
After a power failure had delayed the start by three-quarters of an hour West Ham simply could not hold a candle to their opponents' effortlessly superior passing and movement.
If it takes two to tango then West Ham struggled to achieve a slow foxtrot. Their performance was generally supine and barely redeemed by the introduction of Joe Cole, Upton Park's 17-year-old wunderkind, to the attack for the second half.
Having come on to the first-team scene during an undistinguished draw against Swansea City in the FA Cup a week earlier, Cole now found himself sharing a hiding to nothing with nowhere to hide. He managed a few deft touches and looked more comfortable on the ball than most of his colleagues but the only Cole who seriously caught the attention yesterday answered to the name of Andy.
Andy Cole's two goals, along with the one scored by Dwight Yorke, means that Manchester United's front pair have now contributed 13 apiece. At times West Ham's defenders became as bewildered by their movement as Brondby had been in the Champions League, and with more consistent finishing Harry Redknapp's team would have been punished with comparable severity.
Certainly a six-goal victory would have not have flattered the winners. As it was, Manchester United could afford to rest Peter Schmeichel, sunning himself in the Caribbean, and Paul Scholes as well as leaving David Beckham on the bench.
The ease with which Cole spun away from Neil Ruddock in the opening minutes suggested that West Ham's sweeper system would be in for a dusty afternoon, and so it was soon to prove.
A series of sharp, instinctive passing movements had already stretched their defence by the time United went ahead in the 10th minute. Keane's 30-yard pass through the middle reached Cole who then found Yorke in space to his right and the Tobagan's shot found the far corner of the net.
Three minutes later Jesper Blomqvist's low cross evaded Ruddock, leaving Cole with only Shaka Hislop to beat. Perhaps the striker had a fraction too much time, either way the West Ham goalkeeper was able to smother his shot.
Having gained almost complete control of the game United then decided to go for a Sunday afternoon stroll. Not that West Ham were able to do much about seizing the initiative. Eyal Berkovic frequently retreated into his own half to gather the ball but the lines of communication with John Hartson and Trevor Sinclair were often stretched to the point of invisibility.
United increased their lead six minutes before half-time in slightly bizarre circumstances. Keane and Blomqvist worked the ball to Butt who made space for a shot which he then mishit slightly. Hislop, however, was left thoroughly confused as the ball spun off the pitch in front of him at a tangent and ricocheted off the left-hand post at a crazy angle, leaving Cole to follow up and score a simple goal.
Yorke's cleverly angled pass set Cole up for his second goal after 68 minutes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who had come on for Butt, headed United's fourth 10 minutes from the end after Giggs, sent through by Yorke, had seen his shot rebound off Hislop in a high arc.
Frank Lampard's late goal was scant consolation for West Ham, who have not won at Old Trafford since 1986 and never believed they were going to challenge history. For Redknapp's team the power went off and stayed off.
Manchester United: Van Der Gouw, Irwin, Berg, Brown (Johnsen 77), Blomqvist, Keane (Cruyff 84), Butt (Solskjaer 77), Yorke, Cole, Stam, Giggs. Subs Not Used: Culkin, Beckham. Goals: Yorke 10, Cole 40, 67, Solskjaer 80.
West Ham: Hislop, Ferdinand, Ruddock, Pearce, Potts, Lazaridis, Lampard, Berkovic, Sinclair (Cole 45), Lomas, Hartson. Subs Not Used: Forrest, Abou, Breacker, Iriekpen. Booked: Sinclair. Goals: Lampard 89.
Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).
