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Wayne Rooney (who else?!) fired United back to the top of the Premier League as his brace inspired a 3-0 win over Fulham.

The previous day United had been knocked off the top spot by Chelsea beating West Ham comprehensively 4-1 but Rooney struck 30 seconds after half-time at Old Trafford (much as he did mid-week against AC Milan) and took his goal tally to 32 in the closing stages of the match.

Dimitar Berbatov headed United’s third goal in the last minute to make sure the champions moved 2 points clear of their London rivals.

Ferguson has faith in man of the moment Rooney being able to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 42 goals in a season.

“I said a while ago it’s impossible for a player to get 42 but he is on 32 and there is a challenge there for him,” Ferguson told Sky Sports News.

“He is capable of scoring in the next eight league games and five possible European games, so he has 13 possible games and you never know, I wouldn’t put it beyond him. I was just glad he got to the 30 mark, but we are enjoying his goalscoring.

“I think Fulham with their possession made us work hard and chase around a bit. It was hard to get the ball off them. They have experienced players who are comfortable on the ball.

“We had to try and increase the pace of the game and hurry them up a bit, but the most important thing about Rooney’s first goal was it put their team on the back foot and gave us momentum.”

The victory was bitter-sweet for United having lost 3-0 at Fulham in the corresponding game earlier this season but Rooney, who has now scored 16 goals in his last 11 United appearances, wore them down after a goalless first-half. It would have been hard for Fulham to shut-out United when they were applying so much pressure on Fulham’s rearguard. As expected Rooney broke their resistance when he met Nani’s cross with a first-time slotted finish that flashed past keeper Mark Schwarzer from 10 yards out.

Rooney then put the game beyond doubt when he swept in Berbatov’s 84th minute cross.

Berbatov who could have scored a few goals if he had taken his chances better got his deserved goal (his 10^th of the season) with a diving header from the ever-industrious winger Park Ji-Sung’s 89th minute cross.

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