We rate the players in the game between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday.

By Abhishek Mehrotra

Manchester United

Edwin van der Sar - 5

Was never tested by a defensively disposed Fulham

Nemanja Vidic - 6.5

Marked Bobby Zamora extremely well - sticking tightly to his man and never allowing him to get any space in or around the area. Was not outdone in the air by the big striker either.

Rio Ferdinand - 7

Did a similar job on Clint Dempsey - shadowing the American superbly. Also made a few surprising runs up front, showing attacking prowess not really associated with him.

Patrice Evra - 7

Made up for United's lack of incisiveness down the right with some lovely combination play with Nani on the left. Kept both Simon Davies and Damien Duff quiet.

Gary Neville - 6

Was good in defence, but lacked the legs to consistently support Antonio Valencia on the right flank. This left the Ecuadorian a little isolated on occasion - and took out some variety from United's attacks.

Michael Carrick - 6

Was tasked with keeping tabs on the pugnacious Danny Murphy, who has a history of scoring against United, and did an admirable job. Combined well with Fletcher in midfield - making sure he stayed back to defend every time his fellow midfielder ventured forward.

Darren Fletcher - 6.5

Enjoyed the run of the park against a raggedly Fulham midfield. Played well with Wayne Rooney - and slipped in some neat balls to sent the striker through on goal. Had some chances to score himself but did not have his shooting boots on.

Nani - 7

Gave United much needed thrust on the left with some superbly delivered crosses. Assisted in the crucial opening goal with a nice square ball to Rooney. Was let down by his showpony tendencies on a few occasions - failing to spot runs by other players and opting to go for some spectacular goals himself.

Antonio Valencia - 4

Was off-colour for most of the match - suffering due to lack of support from Gary Neville. Seemed a tad jaded himself and his signature thumping runs on the right were missing.

Wayne Rooney - 6.5

Scored an easy brace but was left frustrated for large parts of the match by some crude but effective Fulham tackling. Ensured he did not waste possession in crowded areas by spreading the ball to either flank and allowing the wingers to come into play.

Dimitar Berbatov - 8.5

The most enterprising Red Devil on the pitch. Set up one goal for Rooney and scored one himself. Showed a willingness to press when he did not have the ball and forced Fulham to squander possession time and again. Did miss two golden opportunities to score with headers - but those are minor quibbles on a day when the Bulgarian really strutted his stuff.

Subs

Ji Sung-Park - 7

Came on for a great little cameo - combining well with Rooney and getting in some superb crosses. Gave United some much needed strength on the right after replacing the mediocre Antonio Valencia.

Fabio - n.a

Fulham

Mark Schwarzer - 7

Made some superb saves - both from close as well as long range and prevented United from running away with the game.

Brede Hangeland - 4

Was beaten time and again by an inspired Berbatov - especially for the second goal which essentially put the game to bed. Did manage to get in some last-ditch tackles against Rooney's strikes but overall was not in the best of form.

Aaron Hughes - 4.5

Struggled to track Rooney's fluid movement and came perilously close to giving away penalties in attempts to scramble back. Can at least be credited with preventing Rooney from continuing his scoring from headers.

Nicky Shorey - 5.5

Stopped Antonio Valencia from marauding down the right and that really takes some doing. However, he was so focussed on doing his defensive duties and so scared of being caught upfield that there was virtually no forward movement from him.

Stephen Kelly - 7

Fulham's best defender of the night. Covered up for his central defenders by putting his body on the line and stopping some bazookas from Rooney. Frustrated the striker with some crude tackles that bordered on the illegal.

Chris Baird - 4

Could not plug the gaps in midfield and allowed Fletcher to dominate proceedings. Could not cut out the supply, which meant United were constantly threatening the Fulham goal.

Danny Murphy - 5

Was the most threatening Fulham player on the pitch in the first half. Sent in some lovely lobbed balls for Bobby Zamora and managed to catch out Ferdinand and Vidic on two occasions. Faded as the match progressed and grew increasingly reckless with his tackles.

Zoltan Gera - 5.5

Was game enough to at least try and take on the United defenders on a day when Fulham were quite impotent in attack. Provided some good balls for Zamora but the Englishman just could not cope with the close attentions of United's central defence.

Simon Davies -3

Was never really in the match as an attacking threat and did not track back often enough to help out his defence.

Clint Dempsey - 3.5

Lost possession easily and frequently - exhibiting a frenetic quality about his play. Never really got going with Zamora as a striking partnership.

Bobby Zamora - 3

Had no impact whatsoever - struggling to cope with a strong United defence. Managed a few good runs in the first half but was let down by poor control and did not feature at all in the second half as Fergie's men camped in the Fulham half.

Subs

Damien Duff - 3

Was a like for like replacement for Davies in that he was ineffective - just like Davies. In his defence - he did not see much of the ball but could not make it count even when he had it.

Jonathan Greening - 3.5

Two of United's three goals came on his watch as Berbatov ran rings around him.

Erik Nevland - n.a