The former England international glanced home Wayne Rooney's 19th-minute cross to give the visitors a deserved lead after Liverpool had earlier leap-frogged the leaders with a 4-0 win over Blackburn.

However, the Black Cats finished the half strongly and Carlos Edwards saw Jonny Evans deflect his 40th-minute cross against the post three minutes after keeper Ben Foster had tipped Djibril Cisse's long-range effort over.

Dimitar Berbatov returned to the United starting line-up at Sunderland as Cristiano Ronaldo was left sitting on the bench.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson made four changes to the side which drew 2-2 with Porto in the Champions League in midweek as Berbatov, Gary Neville, Carlos Tevez and 'keeper Ben Foster were recalled.

Tomas Kuszczak was named on the bench with Edwin van der Sar not in the 18 along with Darren Fletcher, but Ronaldo and Patrice Evra were among the substitutes.

Sunderland boss Ricky Sbragia made five changes as Calum Davenport, Teemu Tainio, Carlos Edwards, Andy Reid and Kenwyne Jones took over from Tal Ben Haim, Dean Whitehead, Steed Malbranque, Kieran Richardson and Daryl Murphy.

United kicked off knowing they had been overtaken at the top of the table by Liverpool as a result of their 4-0 demolition of Blackburn, and desperate for a win of their own to regain their single-point advantage.

It took the visitors just 16 seconds to register their first attempt on goal when Berbatov found Rooney wide on the left and he cut inside before curling a right-footed shot just wide.

Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick were quick to seize control in the middle of the park as Ferguson's men passed the ball swiftly and accurately to leave the Black Cats chasing shadows.

Sunderland gradually settled and Jones started to make his presence felt against a defence missing the injured Rio Ferdinand.

However, it took a brave block from loan signing Davenport, making his first start for the club, to keep out Scholes' blistering drive from Berbatov's ninth-minute lay-off.

Neville, who had earlier been booked for diving, quickly redeemed himself with a vital block from Reid five minutes later after Jones had taken an eternity to lay off Edwards' cross.

Danny Collins kept Sunderland level with a goal-line clearance from Nemanja Vidic's 17th-minute header, and the defender sent an acrobatic overhead kick wide when the ball was recycled to him.

However, United were not to be denied and went ahead two minutes later when Scholes rose unopposed to glance a delicate header past Craig Gordon and into the top corner from Rooney's cross.

Park Ji-Sung set off in pursuit of Carrick's enterprising 25th-minute long ball and might have got there had Gordon not come from his line quickly to intervene.

But with Jones troubling Vidic and former Black Cats loanee Jonny Evans in the air, there was at least hope for the home side.

That hope grew briefly when Vidic uncharacteristically made a hash of shepherding Tainio's 26th-minute pass to Edwards back to Foster and had to hurriedly concede a corner, although the Black Cats were unable to profit from the set-piece.

But they were starting to make an impact and the visitors' goal came under threat twice within seconds on the half-hour mark.

First Vidic just managed to put Cisse off as the pair closed on Salford-born Phil Bardsley's cross from the right, and then Davenport stabbed a shot just wide with Foster wrong-footed.

Jones went close three minutes later when he got to another Bardsley cross just before Vidic, but he fired wide.

Foster was called upon for the first time eight minutes before the break when Cisse took aim from distance and forced the keeper to tip his effort over.

However, he needed the help of a post three minutes later when Edwards' driven cross clipped Evans and came back off the post.

HT: Sunderland 0 Manchester United 1

Rooney continued to threaten down the left and Davenport had to head away another cross after he had twisted his way past Bardsley once again.

But he turned up in a central position seconds later to hammer a curling right-foot shot just wide from 25 yards with Gordon looking anxiously towards his top corner.

The England star was soon in the thick of the action again to force a corner off Davenport, but Sunderland managed to clear their lines.

It was they who went close with 52 minutes gone when Cisse was picked out wide on the right and he drilled the ball across the face of goal, crucially a yard or so ahead of Jones.

Sunderland were back on level terms within three minutes when Tainio tricked his way past Park wide on the left and sent over a cross which Foster could not claim under pressure from Jones.

The ball ran free and the Trinidad and Tobago international managed to stab it into the empty net.

Scholes powered a 58th-minute volley wide from 20 yards as United stepped up a gear with the Black Cats far from content with a share of the spoils.

With Ronaldo warming up on the sidelines, Tevez curled a 61st-minute free-kick over, although Gordon was never in any real danger.

But it took a superb 63rd-minute block by Bardsley to deny Tevez after Berbatov and Scholes had combined to play him in.

Ronaldo replaced Park with 21 minutes remaining, but Cisse went close to a second goal for the home side when he fired into the side-netting with seconds of the Portugal international's arrival.

FT: Sunderland 1 Manchester United 2 The visitors were appealing for a 71st-minute penalty when Berbatov played the ball onto Leadbitter's arm inside the box, although Mr Styles was unsighted and his assistant kept his flag down.

Last weekend's match-winner, Federico Macheda, replaced Berbatov with 15 minutes to go and he had the desired impact within seconds of his arrival.

Carrick's long-range shot looked to be going wide but the 17-year-old stuck out a foot to divert it past Gordon and restore his side's lead.

Former United striker Dwight Yorke came on for Tainio with 85 minutes gone but there were few signs of the defensive frailty which has cost the reigning champions in the recent past.