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A rare right-footed goal from Ryan Giggs and a rather
more predictable 13th consecutive Barclays Premier League clean
sheet were enough for Manchester United to reclaim top
spot.
In a lacklustre game of huff and puff, with not much else in
between, Edwin van der Sar never looked in serious danger of being
denied a British record for not conceding a goal that now extends
to 1,212 minutes.
But United looked equally unlikely to score either until Giggs
stepped inside Carlton Cole, burst into the box and thrashed home a
shot that was enough to end West Ham's impressive eight-match
unbeaten run at Upton Park and edge closer to the championship
triumph that will see the Old Trafford outfit match Liverpool's
impressive tally.
Hammers old boys Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick were given
warm ovations but Carlos Tevez received an even louder burst of
applause in recognition of his efforts in the Eastenders' survival
fight two years ago, which continues to cause the Premier League so
much grief.
The hosts reserved their usual white-hot atmosphere for a United
visit on 'Bobby Moore day', in recognition of a man who will
shortly have to share top billing with David Beckham on 108 caps
for England.
That appreciation continued once the match started too, as
Matthew Upson slid in on Giggs to execute a perfect tackle of which
Moore himself would have been proud.
By that point, Giggs had already sliced a volley wide in an
encouraging start for the champions that also involved a couple of
trademark piledrivers from Paul Scholes, one of which Cristiano
Ronaldo turned goalwards, forcing Robert Green to make an
impressive save.
A brilliant passage of close control involving Giggs, Tevez and
Dimitar Berbatov ended with the Bulgarian lashing a volley
goalwards that James Collins found himself accidentally in the way
of.
Another move of similar quality brought a Nemanja Vidic shot
into the body of the same man and it seemed just a matter of time
before United eventually made the breakthrough.
Instead, with Upson outstanding and Scott Parker snapping into a
series of tackles in midfield, the Hammers slowly got themselves a
foothold in the contest.
If ever there was a man needing to impress watching England
coach Fabio Capello, it was Carlton Cole. Unfortunately, Cole
turned like a giant barge as he collected Jack Collison's short
pass with his back to goal.