Cristiano Ronaldo took over where Wayne Rooney left off as Manchester United continued their impressive assault on the Premier League title in a 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Sunday.
With Rooney out for at least four weeks following an ankle injury sustained in training on Friday, United's rivals had clung to the hope that the absence of the in-form England centre-forward might provide Sir Alex Ferguson with problems.
However, two goals in as many minutes from the Portuguese winger in the first half were a remarkable testimony to the strength in depth currently available to the United manager as he embarks upon his 22nd year in charge of the club.
Frenchman Louis Saha was handed a starting role by Ferguson, partnering Carlos Tevez in attack, although he turned in an underwhelming performance that suggested he may not be the long-term answer to Rooney's absence.
But with Ronaldo showing such an unerring eye for goal, and taking his season tally to six in just nine league starts in the process, United had little cause for concern.
Ronaldo, himself, won the 33rd minute corner that led to the opening goal with a left-foot shot that deflected off David Dunn and missed the Blackburn goal by inches.
Ryan Giggs' resulting corner kick found Ronaldo whose powerful header was helped into his own goal by David Bentley, covering on the line.
United's next attack doubled their lead as Rio Ferdinand's long pass was helped into the path of Tevez by Saha. As the Reds broke furiously upfield, Tevez's far post cross was met by Ronaldo who finished magnificently, albeit with the help of a touch from keeper Brad Friedel.
The two goal salvo was tough justice on returning United hero Mark Hughes and his Rovers side who, like his former club, have enjoyed a solid start to the season.
The afternoon may have panned out altogether differently had Christopher Samba not been denied by the woodwork with a tremendous blast from 22 yards, after Ronaldo had been caught in possession by Dunn.
But Hughes' hopes of preventing United's progress disappeared early in the second half when his team was reduced to ten men as Dunn collected his second bookable offence, a yellow card for fouling Saha following a first half caution for a hack at Tevez.
In truth, the 53rd minute dismissal probably had little bearing on an outcome that had already been decided by Ronaldo's flurry.
Even before his two goal burst, Ronaldo had signalled a warning of his intent with a shot that Bentley cleared off the line from a Giggs corner while Tevez had busied himself in the opening exchanges with some testing runs.
Rovers might have earned a lifeline late in the first half when Morten Gamst Pedersen found Bentley in the area, only for the highly-rated winger to plant a weak shot directly into the body of Edwin van der Sar.
Soon after the restart, Giggs placed a cross-shot onto the roof of Friedel's goal while the loss of Dunn, understandably, placed the visitors under even more intense pressure.
Ronaldo threatened to claim a hat-trick as his trademark trickery created space on the edge of the Rovers area and saw him unleash a venomous left-foot strike that flew just off target.
Pedersen summed up Blackburn's frustrations with a woeful strike at the keeper as he connected with a headed clearance from Nemanja Vidic and there was a late header from Samba which van der Sar scrambled off his line.
But, as United toyed with their beaten visitors, there were bookings for Aaron Mokoena, Samba and Ryan Nelsen, who upended Giggs after an outrageous piece of skill from the Welshman which summed up the level of United's domination.
The victory could have been even more emphatic if not for Friedel who denied Ronaldo a first ever United hat-trick with a near post save, then dived superbly to keep out a Ferdinand shot from Tevez's 83rd minute corner. str/am/pi07 SOURCE: AFP
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