Manchester United propelled themselves right back
into the title hunt with a comfortable 2-0 win at QPR.
• Carrick delighted with United win
Wayne Rooney netted his 15th goal of the season after
just 52 seconds and the champions then missed a succession
of chances before Michael Carrick's first top-flight
goal for almost two years all but sealed the points.
United could easily have scored six against a QPR side
who twice went close themselves through Heidar Helguson
and also saw substitute DJ Campbell miss the easiest
of volleys.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men might have crashed out of the
Champions League and Carling Cup, but they have now
taken 19 points from 21 since losing 6-1 to Roberto
Mancini's City side, proving they will not give up their
title without a fight.
Ferguson would have been choking on his cornflakes
on Sunday morning were he to have read a newspaper interview
in which former United captain Roy Keane escalated their
recent spat.
Keane has been particularly critical of the club's
youngsters, who had another chance to prove him wrong
at Loftus Road - and it took them less than a minute
to strike.
Rooney nodded the ball out to Antonio Valencia down
the right before bursting into the box and stooping
to head home the winger's cross.
Only a desperate block from Danny Gabbidon prevented
Danny Welbeck making it 2-0 two minutes later but United's
vulnerable defence was almost exposed when Heidar Helguson's
free header floated over from Joey Barton's corner.
The game eventually settled down before a 17th-minute
flashpoint that saw Rio Ferdinand booked for hounding
Howard Webb.
The defender's ire would have increased six minutes
later when Welbeck was wrongly flagged offside after
racing clear and steering in what he thought was United's
second goal.
But Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Valencia ought to have
made that irrelevant in the space of three minutes just
before the half-hour.
First, Evans nodded Chris Smalling's flick-on from
a corner against the crossbar.
Jones - again deployed in midfield for injury-hit United
- was then sent clear by Rooney only to lose out one-on-one
with Radek Cerny.
Cerny, who performed heroics in the previous weekend's
defeat at Liverpool, followed that by thwarting Valencia
from point-blank range, with Evans seeing his header
from the resulting corner cleared off the line by Alejandro
Faurlin.
QPR almost made United pay when David De Gea saved
Helguson's low strike with his leg, while Bothroyd was
close with a skidding shot from 20 yards.
That was enough to silence briefly the visiting fans,
who mocked their own side's Champions League exit with
a chant of "Channel 5 is wonderful''.
QPR ended the first half on top but Rooney took just
20 seconds to test Cerny with a low drive after the
restart as United continued to look more likely to score
the game's second goal.
And they did just that in the 56th minute when Barton
gifted the ball to Carrick, who was allowed to carry
it 30 yards by a backpedalling defence before drilling
beyond Cerny from the edge of the box.
Rooney just failed to get a telling connection on a
difficult goalline chance before Jones was booked for
upending Bothroyd.
United were looking deadly on the break and Cerny tipped
over Welbeck's curler before the striker was withdrawn
for Javier Hernandez, who made a shock recovery from
injury to start on the bench.
QPR responded by throwing on DJ Campbell and Adel Taarabt
for Helguson and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
The gulf in class was becoming embarrassing as Jones
casually sidefooted against the post with just under
a quarter of the game remaining.
The two Rangers substitutes should have combined to
halve the deficit 15 minutes from time when Campbell
volleyed Taraabt's cross over the bar from six yards.
Clint Hill then came on for Bothroyd and Giggs replaced
Rooney, with Ashley Young also sent on for Nani late
on as United easily saw out time.
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