MANCHESTER UNITED

Edwin Van der Sar - 6 - Left bumped and bruised by Cahill in only moment of note for the giant Dutchman.

Rafael Da Silva - 7 - Typically energetic performance in his first Premier League start of the season. Taken off for Scholes. Saw yellow for a challenge with Cahill.

Wes Brown - 6 - Breezed through the first half and kept Yakubu quiet in the second.

Nemanja Vidic - 6 - Revelled in the aerial battle with Fellaini and left his mark on Heitinga’s face. A little wasteful when in possession.

Patrice Evra - 9 - Fantastique from the Frenchman. Gave Neill a torrid evening with his darting runs up the pitch and kept Cahill pegged back in the process. His cross led to Fletcher’s goal.

Antonio Valencia - 8 - Followed up a disciplined display at Chelsea with a more expansive performance. Beat Baines for pace and delivered a decent supply of crosses. Added another goal to his collection with a deflected effort.

Darren Fletcher - 9 - Zinedine Zidane would have been proud of his majestic half-volley that opened the scoring. Was the inspiration throughout as he dominated the midfield and showed pretender Rodwell how it’s done. Filled in at full-back for last half hour.

Michael Carrick - 8 - Partnership with Fletcher is starting to blossom. Passed the ball into the net to seal the win and controlled the flow of the match. Picked up a silly booking for an extravagant back heel volley. Gibson took his place with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Ryan Giggs - 8 - The Welshman’s masterclass shows no sign of stopping. Glided across the pitch at will and rarely wasted the ball. Brilliant spot for Carrick’s goal.

Wayne Rooney - 7 - Tried his heart out against his former club and on another night could have helped himself to a few goals. Taken off with 20 minutes to go.

Michael Owen - 6 - Struggled to keep pace at times and wasn’t always on the same wavelength as his team mates.

Substitutes

Paul Scholes - 7 - Set up United’s third after he came on and was his usual unflappable self.

Gabriel Obertan - 7 - Exciting cameo again. Should be well ahead of Nani in the queue to play understudy to Giggs.

Darron Gibson - n/a

EVERTON

Tim Howard - 6 - Couldn’t hold back the Red tide and was left to pick the ball out of his net on three occasions.

Lucas Neill - 4 - Tormented by Evra and toothless when challenged by Giggs. This wasn’t the Australian’s finest hour.

Joseph Yobo - 5 - Failed to stand up to the varied threats posed by the hosts and failed to form a partnership with Distin.

Sylvain Distin - 4 - Shaky display by the former Manchester City man. Put several clearances into the path of the on-rushing United attack and couldn’t keep United quiet.

Leighton Baines - 5 - Struggled to stem the influence of ex-Wigan team-mate Valencia but was unlucky to deflect his shot past Howard.

Dan Gosling - 4 - Was never at the races and failed to come out for the second half.

Jack Rodwell - 5 - The hyperbole in the press should calm down after a quiet display against one of his rumoured suitors.

John Heitinga - 5 - Left bloodied by Vidic and confused by Carrick. Looked a fish out of water in the middle of the park.

Tim Cahill - 5 - Failed to make his mark on proceedings from out wide. Substituted for Jo after being booked earlier on.

Marouane Fellaini - 6 - Won his usual share of headers but was let down by his team-mates who refused to gamble on his knockdowns. Picked up a booking.

Louis Saha - 5 - Cut a forlorn figure as the sole striker in the first period. Showed a number of classy touches and almost raced through to score.

Substitutes

Tony Hibbert - n/a

Jo - n/a

Yakubu - 5 - The ‘Yak may be back but he is a pale shadow of the player that once plundered the Premier League.