LAST NIGHT'S MATCH REPORTS

Manchester United have the air of a team in complete control of their own destiny, so a side of Watford's limitations were always going to struggle in a contest their manager Aidy Boothroyd had likened to "Muhammad Ali against Jimmy Krankie".

The Premiership's bottom club have plenty of fight but precious little class and, despite punching so far above their weight for the early part of last night, they were suitably seen off with the ease of someone swatting away a bothersome fly.

The gulf between the sides was accurately reflected by the margin of victory and a perfectionist such as Sir Alex Ferguson was entitled to muse whether his side should have won by a more handsome margin.

The paradox was that for long spells a reconfigured United team were conspicuously short of their exhilarating best. Faced by such limited opposition, they flickered only sporadically for the opening hour.

When they raised a head of steam, however, it was with devastating effect, scoring three times in 10 second-half minutes to transform a stodgy evening into their most resounding victory since winning by the same margin at Bolton in October.

[Before that] Ferguson could be seen getting increasingly agitated in the dug-out, all arms and larynx as he chastised Richardson for slashing a shot into the Stretford End. It is an oddity of United's season that Ferguson has so often been frustrated by the frequency with which his players have squandered scoring chances.

At times last night his attackers were guilty of being too elaborate while on other occasions, with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes among those rested, they were guilty of carelessness with their final ball.

John O'Shea is a diligent worker but it is nights like these when it becomes apparent how crucial Scholes is to United's chances of holding off Chelsea's challenge at the top of the table.

This time last season United were 15 points behind Chelsea and the frustrations of their crowd were dangerously close to intolerable. That seemed but a distant memory last night as Rooney, Ronaldo et al walked off the pitch to a standing ovation.

The Times:

Alex Ferguson had declared beforehand that his Manchester United team were “going to give someone a hammering” and so, ultimately, it proved.

Maybe it was not quite as one-sided as Adrian Boothroyd, his Watford counterpart, had predicted when he likened it to a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Krankie, but it was a cruel mismatch all the same.

It took three goals in 11 second-half minutes to turn an uncomfortable evening into a rout for United, but that brief purple patch underlined where each of these teams is headed this season.

If there was something tragi-comic about the first two goals, a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo and an own goal by Lloyd Doyley, the third and fourth, from Henrik Larsson and Wayne Rooney, showed both the attacking flair that has kept United six points clear of Chelsea.

United's outstanding players, Ronaldo and Rooney, were born to play at the very highest level and it was the sight of those two arresting talents in full flow that led Boothroyd afterwards to suggest that Watford had been beaten by a team that “might possibly be the best in the world at the moment”.

Such an assessment sounded rather excessive — particularly based on last night's line-up, which included John O'Shea, Kieran Richardson and an out-of-sorts Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — but this was United's nineteenth victory in 25 Premiership matches this season, a record that stands up to any kind of scrutiny and leaves them margin for error as they head for a series of awkward away assignments that start against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon.

Independent:

Alex Ferguson may soon forget the frustration of attempting to improve his squad with Owen Hargreaves and Gareth Bale this month if Rooney, instrumental in all four goals as United eventually stamped style and superiority on basement club Watford, maintains the form and exuberance that has coursed through his veins since breaking his barren spell at the Emirates Stadium 10 days ago.

There was another delicate chip into the Stretford End goal last night for the England striker, another mesmerising display from Cristiano Ronaldo, but it was the ease with which United restored confidence and winning ways following the late collapse at Arsenal in their last League outing that strengthened Ferguson's conviction in the championship credentials of his existing squad.

Prior to the arrival of Aidy Boothroyd's spirited but limited team the United manager ordered 12 wins from the 14 remaining Premiership fixtures to claim a first title in four seasons - now they seek 11. The only downside is they will not all be as simple as this.

The United manager maintained his policy of rotating, granting Gabriel Heinze, John O'Shea and Kieran Richardson first starts of 2007 and resting Henrik Larsson on the bench for the first time since his loan move from Helsingborg, and though Watford's priority was clearly to contain the League leaders their task proved a thankless one.

Telegraph:

Alex Ferguson and Aidy Boothroyd can agree on one thing; they both require 11 victories to achieve their respective goals of winning the championship and avoiding the Championship.

It is a tribute to Watford's resilience and appetite for work that they have yet to be completely humiliated this season. Last night's result matched their worst of the campaign, a 4-0 reverse in the equally unforgiving surroundings of Stamford Bridge.

Afterwards, Ferguson, who has a great liking for Boothroyd, sounded almost pleased that Watford had not been completely humbled. It might have been an attempt at kindness or to build the game up into something it was not but the match programme described Watford as "buoyant".

Even after a couple of recent victories, they came to Old Trafford with the kind of buoyancy experienced by the Titanic an hour after the iceberg struck while the sale of Ashley Young tended to suggest Boothroyd was preparing the lifeboats.

As he proved for Aston Villa at St James' Park last night, Young did at least have the potential to score. The closest Watford came was a cross from Chris Powell – who at the age of 37 found himself pressed into service as a midfielder – that landed on Tomasz Kuszczak's post.

Boothroyd likened this contest to San Marino going to war with the United States but it took a while for them to capitulate. Until Lloyd Doyley headed into his own net, when the game was an hour old, Watford had conceded only one and that was to an unnecessary penalty. Then came the deluge.

United (4-4-2):
Kuszczak; Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic (Silvestre 76), Heinze; Ronaldo, O'Shea, Carrick (Brown 75), Richardson; Rooney, Solskjaer (Larsson 65).
Subs: Van der Sar (g), Park.
Booked: Vidic, Heinze.

Watford (4-5-1):
Lee; Mariappa, Doyley, DeMerit, Stewart; Smith (Williamson 73), Francis, Bangura, Powell (Hoskins 61), Bouazza; Henderson (Kabba 77).
Subs: Chamberlain (g), McNamee.
Booked: DeMerit, Henderson.