Rooney rules Old Trafford on landmark afternoon

London: Wayne Rooney scored his 31st and 32nd goals of the season to lead Manchester United to a 3-0 home win over Fulham that nosed the champions back in front in the Premier League title race.

United officials buried a time capsule near the tunnel before Sunday`s kickoff to mark 100 years at Old Trafford and Rooney etched his name ever deeper into the club`s fabric with another unstoppable display.At this rate the England striker could well surpass the 42 goals scored by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2007-8 season. On a day when United laboured to answer the victories for Chelsea and Arsenal that had dropped them down to third, Rooney provided the spark with a display that illustrated why England`s World Cup hopes rest so heavily on his shoulders. His instinctive first goal, 30 seconds into the second half punctured Fulham`s resistance and his second with six minutes remaining settled some jitters against a dogged London side for whom Bobby Zamora fluffed two great chances. To cap his afternoon Rooney`s raking diagonal pass then instigated a move that ended with Dimitar Berbatov adding a third goal in the final minute as United, bidding for a fourth consecutive title, moved to 66 points with eight games remaining, two points ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal.Surprisingly Rooney hardly got a kick during the opening 20 minutes as Fulham stifled the home side although he did burst into life with a snap shot that was well saved by Mark Schwarzer. Fulham, beaten in the Europa League by Juventus on Thursday, could have taken the lead when striker Bobby Zamora left United`s central defensive duo of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic for dead but his attempted lob cleared the crossbar. A frustrated Rooney went off at halftime complaining about a penalty that was not awarded but he lifted the mood straight after the re-start when he found space in a congested area to beat Schwarzer with a side-foot finish. Zamora wasted another chance when he delayed too long when clean through, allowing Vidic to make a block and shortly afterwards Rooney sealed the points with a sweeping right-foot finish after great wing play by Berbatov. Berbatov then headed in a Park-Ji sung cross to reach double figures for the season. Later on Sunday, Manchester City face Sunderland as they continue their quest for a top-four finish. Bureau Report