Champions Manchester United went top of the Premier League for the first time since October after a four-goal blitz by Wayne Rooney earned a 4-0 home victory over Hull City on Saturday. United moved above Chelsea and Arsenal, who are in FA Cup fourth-round action this weekend, with 50 points from 23 games.
Arsenal have 48 from 22 matches while Chelsea are also on 48 having played two games fewer than United. Rio Ferdinand returned to the centre of United's defence after being sidelined by a back injury since a 2-0 defeat by Liverpool in October but was relatively untroubled as the hosts dominated third from bottom Hull.
It was the first time Rooney had scored four goals in a match in his senior career, with three of them coming late on as Hull's resistance crumbled. "Wayne Rooney was the undoubted highlight of the match," manager Alex Ferguson told MUTV. "It's the first time that he's scored four goals for us. That is very pleasing and he is in excellent goalscoring form at the moment.
While Rooney took his league tally for the season to 19, Ferguson also praised Michael Owen who started alongside Rooney for just the fourth time since joining from Newcastle United.