UNITED recorded their biggest Premier League win since August as they romped to victory in a one-sided clash with Everton at Old Trafford.

Darren Fletcher sent the champions on the right road with a magnificent first-half volley.

Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia gave a truer reflection of United's dominance after the interval to close the gap on leaders Chelsea back to five points.

Dimitar Berbatov was the notable absentee for United as the Premier League champions looked to get their faltering campaign back on track.

Berbatov picked up a knee injury on international duty and failed to recover in time to face the Toffeemen, handing a rare start to Michael Owen.

Jonny Evans also missed out with a calf injury, so Brazilian full-back Rafael Da Silva was handed his first league appearance of the season, while Louis Saha returned to Old Trafford for the first time since quitting for David Moyes' side at the start of last season.

Leighton Baines could not believe he failed to get a free-kick when he was tripped in his own box by Antonio Valencia.

Instead, United were given a corner, which Ryan Giggs curled low to the near-post, where promising youngster Jack Rodwell booted clear.

A forceful burst from Fletcher allowed the Scot to create a crossing opportunity for Valencia. Lucas Neill headed away but Wayne Rooney, against his boyhood idols, curled the loose ball narrowly wide.

Patrice Evra beat a couple of defenders to get inside the box but John Heitinga made the block, then Rooney almost slipped Owen through but the ball got stuck under the striker's feet and the opportunity went begging.

Valencia won a corner off Baines as United maintained their early offensive, the Everton full-back coming out on top a couple of minutes later as his opponent looked set to charge clear inside the box.

Rooney failed to make a decent connection after Evra had rolled a pass into his path on the edge of the area.

Giggs forced former United keeper Tim Howard into a low save before Wes Brown got back to deny Saha a clear run at the home goal as Everton countered.

Valencia was proving to be a difficult man to tie down, although he could not keep his shot on target after Carrick had crossed.

Everton finally managed an effort on goal of their own after 20 minutes but Saha failed to test Edwin van der Sar from 20 yards.

Having used his programme notes to call for a more clinical attitude from his team, Sir Alex Ferguson must have been disappointed at their failure to make that early pressure count.

Rafael somehow found a reason to complain when he was booked for trying to haul Saha down with a tackle that would have earned approving nods at Twickenham.

United were peppering the Everton penalty area with crosses and corners without properly penetrating the visitors' defence.

Rodwell curled a shot wide but it was a rare counter-attack by the Merseyside outfit and United took a deserved lead 10 minutes before the break.

Valencia did well to stretch for a deep Evra cross and managed to succeed in nodding the ball back into Fletcher's path.

The Scotland skipper has emerged as one of the most influential midfielders in the Premier League in recent times.

Most of that good work tends to be destructive but there was nothing wrong with the maginificent volley he sent curling into the top corner.

Tim Cahill was booked for deliberate handball as Everton looked for an immediate reply, then Heitinga sustained a nasty cut following after being caught in the face by Nemanja Vidic.

Marouane Feliani was cautioned for a late tackle on Fletcher and the pressure continued as Howard was forced to race out and turn away an Owen chip that was heading for the far corner.

Moyes made a change at the break, introducing Ayegbeni Yakubu for Dan Gosling in an effort to get more attacking impetus from his team and provide Saha with some much-needed support.

Fellaini thought he had equalised, only for an offside flag to be correctly raised against him as he strode on to Yakubu's precise pass.

Tim Cahill was perfectly placed to clear when Brown tried to nod Giggs' cross into Michael Carrick's path.

The Australian was soon involved at the other end too as he raced on to Yakubu's pass. Van der Sar was alive to the danger though and slid out to smother at the expense of a bang on the knee as the pair crashed into each other.

Rooney clipped the bar with a curling shot from 25 yards, the last action before Paul Scholes was introduced for Rafael, a move that saw Fletcher shift into the right-back role.

Yakubu's strength was starting to cause United a problem and when the Nigerian turned Brown, his low shot went fizzing past the far post with Van der Sar struggling to get there.

Owen brought a fine save out of Howard, then Rooney let fly with a shot that would have rolled out for a throw if Giggs had not been there to collect.

The veteran Welshman had endured a quiet evening thus far. But he quickly spotted Carrick on the edge of the box and presented the England international with an opportunity to calmly stroke United's second into the bottom corner.

Carrick was booked for kicking the ball away shortly afterwards, then Valencia sent a rising drive over when he might have been expected to do better.

Rooney looked puzzled when he was replaced by Gabriel Obertan 15 minutes from full-time, although Ferguson no doubt figured the England star has bigger challenges ahead.

United were clearly not affected by his absence and Valencia strode onto Scholes' lay-off to fire home a third, thanks partly to a deflection off Baines.