A Dimitar Berbatov brace saw Manchester United beat Sunderland to remain two points clear at the top.
Bulgarian nets in either half to hand United a deserved victory
A Dimitar Berbatov brace saw Manchester United beat Sunderland to remain two points clear at the top of the Premier League.
The Bulgarian headed the opener on five minutes from close range after a Wayne Rooney cross.
United then threatened to over-run the Black Cats, with first Berbatov and then Anderson hitting the woodwork, but Steve Bruce's side weathered the storm and came more into the game after the half hour mark.
But Berbatov netted his second on 57 minutes with a shot which deflected in off Anton Ferdinand to steady the United nerves and hand the league leaders a deserved victory.
Victory provided unbeaten United with a healthy advantage over third and fourth placed Arsenal and Chelsea, who meet at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, while nearest challengers Manchester City, who beat Newcastle 3-1 on Boxing Day, are two points behind but have played two games more.
And while Rooney's wait for a goal in open play goes on, Berbatov continues to fill the void superbly.
The much-criticised Bulgarian is now on 13 for the season, although his second did require a massive deflection off Ferdinand after he had provided United with a fifth minute opener in a one-sided contest.
It was almost beyond comprehension that United were not out of sight by half time.
Not only had they scored an early goal, they had also struck the woodwork on two occasions, Rooney had twice come close to grabbing that elusive first goal in open play since March and both Berbatov and Ryan Giggs had threatened terror at every turn.
In response, under-strength Sunderland failed to muster a single shot.
Remained hopeful
Yet somehow Bruce remained hopeful of - if not gaining that long-awaited win over his old boss - at least not returning to Wearside empty-handed despite missing seven key men.
Berbatov had broken the deadlock in such simple fashion too.
Giggs' driving run through the Sunderland midfield caused the visitors a major headache. When the veteran laid off a pass to Rooney, Berbatov was in space at the far post. All his strike partner had to do was find him, which he did with a superb chipped cross which the Bulgarian powered home.
On his last start a month ago, Berbatov scored five and United bagged seven and for a while it seemed a repeat was on the cards.
Rooney floated an excellent chip narrowly wide, Berbatov thudded a shot against the post and Anderson weaved his way into space on the edge of the area and curled a shot that beat Gordon but crashed down off the bar.
The Scotland keeper was relieved to see another Berbatov effort flash into the side-netting, then saved with his feet as Giggs threatened.
Amid all this, Rooney had let fly with a chip from the edge of the area which went narrowly wide.
But Sunderland, who were able to keep more possession as the half went on, had only conceded once at half time and were still in the match.
Under threat
As if to prove how precarious their position was, United's goal came under threat at the start of the second period.
First Steed Malbranque, then Asamoah Gyan tried their luck, the latter man blazing over with a volley from an acute angle.
The sense of foreboding was increasing amongst the home fans but the worries were brought to an end when United benefited from a slice of luck they should not have needed.
With Rooney's overlapping run offering Berbatov space after Anderson had picked out the Bulgarian with a pass he delivered whilst appearing to look the other way, a shot was lined up for the right corner of Gordon's goal.
But Berbatov's effort was deflected in by Ferdinand, whose last-minute own goal in the corresponding fixture last year cost his side their first Old Trafford win since 1968.
Almost immediately, Ferguson replaced Anderson and Giggs with Darron Gibson and Federico Macheda.
Anderson did not look particularly impressed but a few consoling words from his manager, no doubt pointing out what lies ahead over the next fortnight, and a standing ovation from the Stretford End, seemed to cheer his mood.
Berbatov almost made it his third hat-trick of the season when he swivelled onto Gibson's pass and let fly with a shot that a startled Gordon could not hold.
Boudewijn Zenden finally managed a shot on target for the Black Cats near the end, although by then, United were playing on autopilot anyway and they coasted to a comfortable win.
