Ronaldo inspires superb United win

LONDON, England -- Premier League champions Manchester United extended their lead in this year's English title race with a 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa at Old Trafford in Saturday's evening kick-off.

United took the field minutes after seeing Arsenal close to within three points with a dramatic late win at Bolton, but it did not take long for them to take command.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was once again the inspiration for United and gave them the lead in the 17th minute with an impudent back-heel to surprise Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson.

United extended the advantage with a sweeping move 12 minutes from half-time with Ronaldo providing a pin-point cross for Carlos Tevez to head home emphatically for his 16th of the season.

Shaun Maloney wasted Villa's best chance early in the second half before Ronaldo played in Rooney to round Carson for United's third.

Rooney had missed a sitter early in the half but grabbed his second goal of the match, again provided by a Ronaldo pass, to complete the rout.

Victory saw United finish the day six points ahead of Arsenal while third-placed Chelsea can cut the gap to five points if they beat Middlesbrough on Sunday.

"I thought the players reached a peak last week (in the 3-0 win over Liverpool) and that has continued today," United manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports.

"They realize now it's a race to the line and we need consistency and real focus.

"We showed fantastic energy which is very pleasing considering most of them have been away on international duty and it was a heavy pitch." E-mail to a friend