Fulham 3-0 Manchester United

Bobby Zamora was the best English striker on the field as Fulham thrashed Manchester United 3-0.

Craven Cottage was treated to a vintage performance from an English striker pressing a strong claim for inclusion in Fabio Capello's plans.

And it wasn't United's Michael Owen, given a starting place at the expense of Dimitar Berbatov, who caught the eye - as he was totally eclipsed by the performance of man-of-the-match Bobby Zamora.

Owen saw little of the ball in the early exchanges.

Paul Scholes, however was in the thick of the action, soon being yellow-carded for a reckless sliding tackle on Fulham's Damien Duff.

The challenge was a sign of the Red Devils' desperation to get a foothold in the match; Tomasz Kusczak made a fingertip save from a Zoltan Gera volley as Fulham took control.

Van der Saar's understudy could do nothing about Fulham's opener in the 21st minute. Danny Murphy dispossessed the wretched Scholes outside the United penalty area and hit a shot which bounced once before crossing the goal-line.

Sir Alex Ferguson would have been well-aware that former Liverpool player Murphy has scored the winning goal against United on four separate occasions.

Gera was also proving to be a thorn in the visitors' side, supplying a cross which the livewire Zamora might have scored from as Fulham's dominance continued.

Within 20 seconds of the second half Fulham doubled their lead, Duff and Clinton Dempsey combining to set up Zamora in the six-yard box. The former Brighton striker made no mistake, volleying his fifth goal in the last four games.

Off came Ritchie de Laet and Darron Gibson and on came Berbatov and Fabio Da Silva as United regrouped.

Owen, deprived of any meaningful service from the midfield, was substituted shortly afterwards.

Perhaps Scholes should have been hooked instead: screwing shots wide and miscuing passes as United struggled to launch a comeback.

The contest was settled in the 74th minute, when Zamora used his chest to control a long pass and released Duff whose left foot shot had goal written all over it.

Zamora again used his chest to nearly score before he was substituted to loud applause from fans who had doubted him earlier in the season.