Sir Alex Ferguson has declared himself delighted with Manchester United’s 5-0 win away at Fulham last night, explaining patience was key early on.

 

The champions raced into the lead after just five minutes through Danny Welbeck, before Nani added a second with 28 minutes gone. And when Ryan Giggs made it 3-0 just before half time, it looked well and truly game over for Martin Jol’s Fulham.

 

3-0 was how it remained until the 88th minute, when Wayne Rooney scored United’s fourth and Dimitar Berbatov, on as a second half substitute, completed the rout with a fifth.

 

And Ferguson was delighted with his team’s character, especially given that they lost both Phil Jones and Ashley Young to injuries.

 

"The games against Fulham over the last three years tell you how difficult it is to come here; we’d won only one point from nine", said the United boss post-match.

 

"We were very patient with the ball in the early part of the match.

 

"We worked our way through the Fulham midfield and it was a great cutback for Danny to score his goal – he took it well.

 

"Good starts are really important in games like this and it gave us control until half-time."

 

Ferguson also praised his players’ character, with the side absorbing the loss of Jones and Young.

 

"We had to make some changes before the match and then Phil Jones picked up his injury. So it says a lot for the players.

 

"They stood up to a really difficult game."

 

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