Manchester United 3 - 0 West Ham United
Old Trafford | Saturday |28 August 2010 | 17:30

Wayne Rooney ended his goal drought as Manchester United beat Premier League strugglers West Ham United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

The England international opened the scoring with his first goal in 13 matches for club and country from the penalty spot before Nani and Dimitar Berbatov both scored wonderful strikes to haul themselves up to third leave the beleaguered Hammers rooted to the bottom of the table.

Rooney bagged his first strike since the end of March after 33 minutes when the excellent Ryan Giggs nipped past former United defender Jonathan Spector and into the box, forcing him to make the foul. Rooney took an unorthodox run-up, skipping several steps to the side before rolling the ball into the bottom corner with Robert Green diving the other way.

West Ham played like a side with little or no self belief for much of the match, and it was surprising that they held on until the 50th minute before conceding a second. But when the goals came, they were worth the wait.

Rooney knocked Darren Fletcher's pass into the path of Nani, and the Portuguese forward burst forward, left defender Danny Gabbidon on his backside and fired past Green from the edge of the box.

Berbatov's contribution in linking up the attack was excellent throughout, and he got a deserved third of the season on 69 minutes when Nani clipped the ball to him at the far post that was the perfect height for an acrobatic volley. The Bulgarian striker removed his shirt as he wheeled away in celebration, and was subsequently booked.

The signs look ominous for West Ham. Carlton Cole was isolated up front, Julien Faubert was at times hapless in midfield and the whole side looked over-reliant on captain Scott Parker. Kieron Dyer, making back-to-back starts for the first time in three years, sporadically threatened to cause United problems, but was unable to make the most of his pace.

The visitors barely fashioned a shot on goal in the first half, whereas Nani hit the crossbar, Darren Fletcher forced a top-drawer save from Green and Berbatov had a half-volleyed effort blocked in addition to Rooney scoring the opener.

When a clear chance finally came for the Hammers it really summed up the travails of 2010, Dyer's solid strike crashing off the outside of the near post 10 minutes into the second half.

That was as good as it got for Hammers boss Avram Grant, who now has prepare his players for upcoming home clashes against Chelsea and Tottenham and a trip to Stoke.

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