Rampant Ronaldo Takes Wing Again to Better Best

Better than Best? Manchester United's supporters of a certain generation will dispute that sentiment, certainly until Cristiano Ronaldo has started to bewitch opponents on foreign excursions in the way George Best once did, but the current darling of Old Trafford is entitled to feel a great deal of satisfaction that he has succeeded in making it a legitimate debate, at the very least.

This was Ronaldo's first outing as captain and, typically, he was to take the central role in a routine victory that puts United three points clear at the top of the Premier League.

The Portuguese scored both goals, taking him to 33 for the season and, in the process, pinching one of Best's enduring records, El Beatle having stood as United's most prolific winger since scoring 32 times in the 1967-68 season.

Many of United's followers must have thought that record would never be broken, but Ronaldo, El Brylcreem, has managed it in 36 appearances, compared to Best's 52, and he did it with some panache, too, on an evening of huge satisfaction for the champions, one in which Sir Alex Ferguson's gamble to rest so many players never came close to backfiring.

Ferguson, lest it should be forgotten, tends to get these things right more often than not. Yet, as gambles go, this was one of his more daring punts, starting with the kind of experimental team that is usually required to fulfill Carling Cup fixtures.

In short, it was a night for Tomasz Kuszczak, Gerard Piqué and John O'Shea while the substitutes included A-listers such as Wayne Rooney, Paul Scholes and Patrice Evra. Rio Ferdinand was also given the night off to rest a minor back problem and Ryan Giggs's only appearance on the pitch was before kick-off as part of an anti-racism initiative.

The danger for Ferguson when he takes these kind of risks is two-fold: first, that his own side might not be as cohesive and fluent as usual and, second, that it can inspire opponents to play above themselves. That, however, requires a more accomplished side than the one managed by Gary Megson. From a Bolton perspective, these chances do not come along very often. The problem for Megson was that his players had neither the wit nor the gumption to do anything about it.

Instead, it felt very much like business as usual, the same routine albeit with some different faces, and Ronaldo quickly set about showing that, of all the most important requirements to be a decent captain, the most important is to lead by example.

His first goal arrived while Megson was still on his first stick of chewing gum, Nani's corner leading to all sorts of confusion before the ball dropped to Ronaldo and, with one swipe of his right boot, he found a gap in a congested penalty area to arrow a shot beyond Ali Al Habsi.

It was a rather scruffy way to equal Best's record but Ronaldo chose a typically spectacular way of breaking it: a dipping, swerving, 30-yard special of a free-kick over the defensive wall and down, swirling through the air like a beach ball on a gusty day. As well as standing virtually unchallenged as the most penetrative front player in English football, Ronaldo's reputation is now confirmed as its most accomplished dead-ball specialist, this being the fifth time this season he has scored such a goal.

In between, Kuszczak justified his surprise inclusion by keeping out Kevin Davies' volley after a fine run and cross by Danny Guthrie, but it was a rare breakaway and Bolton quickly settled into their role of passive victims. It is a measure of their problems that Megson's starting line-up had scored a combined total of five goals all season. The team have managed only seven in the 12 games since Nicolas Anelka was sold and Megson cut a solitary figure as he stood on the touchline, no doubt wondering how much more damage would be inflicted on their goal-difference column.

To Megson's great relief, United were generous opponents for the remainder of the game. There were still plenty of moments when the gulf in class was brutally apparent, but United's supremacy did not yield the thrashing that had looked on the cards early on and, in sporadic bursts, Bolton even mounted a few attacks of their own.

The game was already won, of course, and the Stretford End was in fine voice. "Viva Ronaldo," they sang.