Man Utd 4 - 1 Derby

Manchester United overcame Derby's resilience to move within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Derby's lack of a serious attacking threat was always going to limit their hopes of upsetting the champions. And United's midfield, which included Michael Carrick as a late replacement after Owen Hargreaves was injured in the warm-up, gradually took a grip on the game.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men still had to wait until the 40th minute to take the lead through Giggs' opportunistic strike but they quickly had the game sewn up. After Rooney had hit the post with a cheeky chip, Tevez added a second goal - firing home at the second attempt when Ronaldo's free-kick was not properly cleared.

Derby did not give up and Giles Barnes' shot gave United keeper Edwin van der Sar problems before Claude Davis tried his luck with an acrobatic effort from the resulting corner.

United were still looking dangerous though, and Giggs hit the post with a volley from Wes Brown's cross before Tevez made it 3-0 with a powerful finish.

Howard got on the end of Tyrone Mears' cross to pull a goal back for the Rams but it was United who had the last word. Ronaldo, who was booked for diving against Fulham earlier in the week, tumbled in the area under challenge from Mears and got up to convert the spot-kick for his 14th goal of the season.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand (O'Shea 71), Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Anderson (Fletcher 62), Giggs (Saha 64), Rooney, Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Nani.