Manchester United 5 Fulham 1: Manchester United roared out a statement of intent at Old Trafford with a five-star blast which devastated a hapless Fulham today.

After Liverpool and Arsenal slipped at the first hurdle on the opening day, the Red Devils were in no mood to make it a hat-trick of big-name fallers and struck four times in the opening 20 minutes to get their latest title challenge off to the best possible start.

Louis Saha and Wayne Rooney netted either side of an Ian Pearce own goal, with Cristiano Ronaldo adding another to complete that spellbinding start.

At that stage, Cottagers boss Chris Coleman must have feared his side would be on the wrong end of a landslide.

In the end though, United settled for just one more, with Rooney - at loggerheads with the FA over the three-match ban he must now serve - signing off with a well-taken second.

If nothing else, those first, incredible minutes totally swept away the sense of trepidation many United fans felt at the onset of another new campaign.

For virtually the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson took charge nearly two

decades ago, United are not viewed - even by their own fans - as anything remotely approaching title favourites.

Discord over Malcolm Glazer's ownership - and specifically the amount of debt it entails - remains, the lack of new signings in Ferguson's starting line-up hardly suggested the start of a bright new era and then there is the upcoming suspensions for Rooney and Paul Scholes.

Yet those negative thoughts were quickly set aside by the kind of forceful, blistering, simply irresistible attacking football few are capable of matching.

In Saha, Rooney and Ronaldo, United boast three of the quickest players in the Premiership, in both thought and deed. Ferguson has boldly predicted Saha will score a minimum 20 goals this season if he remains injury free.

It is a big if, yet one the United boss has gambled on in opting not to replace Ruud van Nistelrooy.

On the ground where he scored twice on his Premiership debut for Fulham five years ago, Saha took just eight minutes to open his account, rising highest to nod home Ryan Giggs' left wing cross.

Coleman must have been alarmed by the slack marking which provided Saha with his opportunity and it was not long before he was wishing the season could start all over again.

Set free by Giggs, Rooney found his initial run on goal blocked but, after finding Ronaldo, the England striker continued his run and panicked Pearce into turning Saha's low cross into his own net.

Saha was heavily involved in the third too, meeting a Gary Neville cross with an acrobatic volley Antti Niemi did well to keep out, only for Rooney to sidefoot home the rebound.

All that was left now was a goal for Ronaldo, which duly arrived in impressive fashion just two minutes later.

The predictable boos for the Portugal winger from the visiting end when his name was read out seconds before kick-off had been drowned out by the enthusiastic cheers from home supporters in a Premiership record 75,000 crowd.

Playing with Rooney for the first time since their altercation in Gelsenkirchen, Ronaldo drifted intelligently to the far post when his young team-mate collected the ball by the left touchline.

Rooney's cross was outstanding, the finish unstoppable as Ronaldo drilled a half volley into the roof of Niemi's net.

Understandably perhaps, some of the fire began to go out of United's play, although Scholes rapped a post with a vicious 30-yard drive; the rebound almost bouncing in off Niemi's head.

Saha went close either side of the interval, by which time Fulham had at least grabbed an early consolation when Heidar Helguson's shot cannoned in off Rio Ferdinand's shoulder.

But, clearly, the potential for humiliation was all too much for Michael Brown, who should have been sent off for an appalling stamp on Giggs yet somehow escaped with a yellow card which brought an angry reaction from the home bench.

On his last appearance for club or country before the middle of next month, Rooney drove home his second from Wes Brown's cut-back, then set up Ronaldo for what would have been United's sixth had the winger not drilled his shot just wide.