Wayne Rooney kept Manchester United on course for a record 20th title after hitting the winner in a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Monday. Rooney's 21st top-flight goal of the season, which arrived towards the end of the first half, proved enough to see off spirited mid-table opposition.
The result sent Sir Alex Ferguson's side, who have won their last six league games, three points clear of neighbours Manchester City at the top of the table with eight games remaining. It was far from vintage United, but with their next four games against teams in the bottom six, it is difficult to see where United are going to slip up.
"For an hour we played very well and we made some decent opportunities but you have to give credit to Fulham," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "They had more left than we did in the last 15 minutes. I think they had a claim (for a penalty), there's no doubt. We had a claim in the first half. Maybe the referee was thinking about that, but certainly Michael Carrick caught Danny Murphy's heel."