Manchcester Utd 3 Everton 0:Manchester United scored three goals in the final five minutes to beat Everton 3-0 in their English Premiership match at Old Trafford on Monday.
England midfielder Paul Scholes scored twice and in between his strikes there was time for Dutch forward Ruud van Nistelrooy to add another from the penalty spot.
The result moved United into fourth place, six points behind leaders Arsenal, while Everton, who finished the match with 10 men, dropped to 12th.
England captain and United midfielder David Beckham said the result had been a reward for United's persistence.
"We knew if we kept on going we'd get chances and we'd put them away," he told Sky Sports afterwards.
"We were a bit sluggish through the whole game but in the last five minutes we carried on and finished it off."
Asked if the result signalled the start of United's challenge to Arsenal, Beckham said: "Arsenal are a great team. It's up to us and we are only interested in what we are doing.
"It's early season still. You don't want anyone at the top to get far away from you but we just want to concentrate on us at the moment."
United manager Alex Ferguson admitted his side had been made to work hard for their victory.
"We had patience and possibly determination. That's one of the best games I've seen for many a day and it's the best Everton team I've seen for years, we really had to perform well to win that game," he said.
"There were some terrific passing movements but our finishing wasn't great, we got to the byline a few times and maybe made the wrong decision and when they counter-attacked in the last 20 minutes it was a real threat.
Everton manager David Moyes said his team had deserved a point from the game.
"We are devastated. We don't feel as if we deserved that. We thought we contained Manchester United for 86 minutes and it looked like being a nothing-each draw."
His team had held out until four minutes from the finish when, following a Ryan Giggs cross, Scholes shot home from inside the box.
Then supersub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was clean through on goal when he was hauled back in the box by Everton defender David Weir.
Referee Mike Riley pointed to the spot and sent-off Weir. Van Nistelrooy stepped up and Everton goalkeeper Richard Wright could do nothing about his powerful strike.
Everton's misery was compounded when Scholes rifled home his second off the underside off the crossbar into the top corner from 20 yards out in the first minute of added time as the visitors' defence backed away.
Solskjaer almost gave Ferguson's side the lead in the 65th minute but failed to make a proper connection with a centre from Beckham.
And barely two minutes later van Nistelrooy volleyed over from point blank range after Everton defender David Unsworth's misdirected header dropped into his path.
United continued to press forward, Scholes linking well with Solskjaer before drilling his shot wide after receiving a clever backheeled pass from the Norway forward. Beckham himself then went close when his chip from the edge of the box clipped the crossbar in the 78th minute.
But it was not all one-way traffic. United's France goalkeeper Fabien Barthez showed fine nerve in coming out to block Everton striker Kevin Campbell, the pair colliding after the United defence was caught out by a swift counter-attack.
And Everton's 16-year-old striker Wayne Rooney, a 74th minute substitute, evaded several United defenders seven minutes from time only to shoot straight at Barthez. United went close on a number of occasions in the first half but could not find the back of Wright's net. An early sign of United pressure came when Giggs' cross was just taken away from van Nistelrooy by Weir.
Everton had a chance of their own when Riley awarded the visitors a free-kick after Laurent Blanc had tugged striker Kevin Campbell's shirt.
But from 20 yards out Thomas Gravesen struck the ball over over the crossbar.
Wright then reacted sharply to gather a Beckham centre which only just missed Scholes' boot.
And the former Arsenal shot-stopper again showed good judgment when he advanced quickly off his line to collect Beckham's through ball intended for Giggs.
AFP