United close gap with Cottage cruise

Hargreaves: Celebrates his free-kick

United had Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench and Nemanja Vidic and Ryan Giggs out injured but they never looked like surrendering victory after Owen Hagreaves fired them ahead with a 15th-minute free-kick.

And Arsenal's failure to win at home against Aston Villa made the afternoon even more successful for Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Despite resting so many stars, United made light of what Fulham tried to turn into a carnival occasion and were cruising by half-time thanks to Hargreaves' first goal for the club and Park Ji-Sung's header

United eased off the gas after the break but were presented with a third goal by Fulham's Simon Davies who toe-ended John O'Shea's cross through the legs of his own goalkeeper Antti Niemi soon after the appearance of Rooney, Ronaldo and Anderson.

For Fulham, with just three wins this season, it was an extra punishment they did not deserve. But even Roy Hodgson must admit now that their survival battle is nearly over.

There could have many more goals and the overriding emotion among neutrals would have been sympathy for Fulham who were massively outgunned despite all their sweat and tears.

They appear to be facing mission impossible but the old Cottage was a glorious sight on a sunlit afternoon, awash with placards and banners in support of the home side despite their relegation worries.

As expected, though, United dominated the early possession, stringing passes together and having the first shot inside three minutes when Louis Saha chested on Park's right-wing cross for Nani to drill into the chest of Niemi.

Two minutes later Saha, facing his old club in his first start for two months, was galloping through the middle again onto a long free-kick from Paul Scholes but unaccountably skewered his shot wide from 14 yards.

Niemi soon had to get down to a low drive by Carlos Tevez, with Paul Konchesky scooping away the loose ball.

Then, from nowhere, new American striker Eddie Johnson, in his orange boots, battled down the right to send in a half-cleared cross for Fulham and Danny Murphy powered in a shot from 25 yards which Edwin van der Sar, another former Fulham favourite, had to juggle around his right-hand post.

It was a clear warning to United that complacency might not be their only enemy.

But normality returned as Scholes had a goalbound shot blocked by Aaron Hughes as United poured forward again in the 14th minute.

And when seconds later Tevez won a dubious free-kick inches outside the area after falling over a challenge by Brede Hangeland, it was Hargreaves who stepped up to place it perfectly over the wall and wide of Niemi's reach.

Niemi's flying saves kept out Scholes' shot which appeared to be creeping inside a post and after Murphy tested van der Sar again with a half-volley following Jimmy Bullard's free-kick for a foul by Wes Brown, it was Scholes again who chested Patrice Evra's cross past a post.

But Fulham could not keep the red tide at bay forever and they opened up again in first-half stoppage time when Park was granted the freedom of the penalty area to head in a Scholes cross after a neat link-up between Tevez and Nani.

Fulham deserved great credit for their pluck and they had a good share of possession as United began to ease off but it seemed the height of cruelty to send on both Ronaldo and Rooney late on.

Even so it was a Fulham player who scored United's third. Davies, just back from a one-match ban, stuck out a boot running towards his own goal and jabbed O'Shea's cross between the legs of Niemi.