<p>United officials buried a time capsule near the tunnel before Sunday's kickoff to mark 100 years at Old Trafford and Rooney etched his name ever deeper into the club's fabric with another unstoppable display. <br /><br />At this rate the England striker could well surpass the 42 goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2007-8 season. On a day when United laboured to answer the victories for Chelsea and Arsenal that had dropped them down to third, Rooney provided the spark with a display that illustrated why England's World Cup hopes rest so heavily on his shoulders. <br /><br />His instinctive first goal, 30 seconds into the second half punctured Fulham's resistance and his second with six minutes remaining settled some jitters against a dogged London side for whom Bobby Zamora fluffed two great chances. <br /><br />To cap his afternoon Rooney's raking diagonal pass then instigated a move that ended with Dimitar Berbatov adding a third goal in the final minute as United, bidding for a fourth consecutive title, moved to 66 points with eight games remaining, two points ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal. <br /><br />Chelsea and Arsenal are locked together on 64 points although the former have a better goal difference and a game in hand. Surprisingly Rooney hardly got a kick during the opening 20 minutes as Fulham stifled the home side although he did burst into life with a snap shot that was well saved by Mark Schwarzer. <br /><br />Zamora wasted another chance when he delayed too long when clean through, allowing Vidic to make a block and shortly afterwards Rooney sealed the points with a sweeping right-foot finish after great wing play by Berbatov. Berbatov then headed in a Park-Ji sung cross to reach double figures for the season. <br /><br />Didier Drogba scored twice to lift Chelsea to a 4-1 victory over West Ham United on Saturday while Arsenal shadowed them with a last-gasp victory at Hull City. <br />Drogba's double and one for Malouda killed off relegation-threatened West Ham who were level at halftime after former Chelsea man Scott Parker cancelled out Alex's header. <br />Nicklas Bendtner, fresh from a Champions League hat-trick against Porto in midweek, punished Hull keeper Boaz Myhill's mistake in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Arsenal a 2-1 victory at 10-man Hull. <br /><br />Below the title scrap, Roman Pavlyuchenko boosted fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur's push for Champions League qualification with two goals in a 3-1 home defeat of Blackburn Rovers. Aston Villa, one of Tottenham's rivals for fourth spot, lost ground with a 0-0 draw at Stoke City. <br /></p>
<p>United officials buried a time capsule near the tunnel before Sunday's kickoff to mark 100 years at Old Trafford and Rooney etched his name ever deeper into the club's fabric with another unstoppable display. <br /><br />At this rate the England striker could well surpass the 42 goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2007-8 season. On a day when United laboured to answer the victories for Chelsea and Arsenal that had dropped them down to third, Rooney provided the spark with a display that illustrated why England's World Cup hopes rest so heavily on his shoulders. <br /><br />His instinctive first goal, 30 seconds into the second half punctured Fulham's resistance and his second with six minutes remaining settled some jitters against a dogged London side for whom Bobby Zamora fluffed two great chances. <br /><br />To cap his afternoon Rooney's raking diagonal pass then instigated a move that ended with Dimitar Berbatov adding a third goal in the final minute as United, bidding for a fourth consecutive title, moved to 66 points with eight games remaining, two points ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal. <br /><br />Chelsea and Arsenal are locked together on 64 points although the former have a better goal difference and a game in hand. Surprisingly Rooney hardly got a kick during the opening 20 minutes as Fulham stifled the home side although he did burst into life with a snap shot that was well saved by Mark Schwarzer. <br /><br />Zamora wasted another chance when he delayed too long when clean through, allowing Vidic to make a block and shortly afterwards Rooney sealed the points with a sweeping right-foot finish after great wing play by Berbatov. Berbatov then headed in a Park-Ji sung cross to reach double figures for the season. <br /><br />Didier Drogba scored twice to lift Chelsea to a 4-1 victory over West Ham United on Saturday while Arsenal shadowed them with a last-gasp victory at Hull City. <br />Drogba's double and one for Malouda killed off relegation-threatened West Ham who were level at halftime after former Chelsea man Scott Parker cancelled out Alex's header. <br />Nicklas Bendtner, fresh from a Champions League hat-trick against Porto in midweek, punished Hull keeper Boaz Myhill's mistake in the third minute of stoppage time to earn Arsenal a 2-1 victory at 10-man Hull. <br /><br />Below the title scrap, Roman Pavlyuchenko boosted fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur's push for Champions League qualification with two goals in a 3-1 home defeat of Blackburn Rovers. Aston Villa, one of Tottenham's rivals for fourth spot, lost ground with a 0-0 draw at Stoke City. <br /></p>
