Manchester United 3 Everton 0:Darren Fletcher added another memorable entry to his bulging CV as he launched Manchester United on their way to a comfortable victory over Everton.

Although they were already well on top against the Merseysiders who, apart from a brief five-minute second-half flurry were completely outclassed, United were struggling to make the breakthrough until Fletcher fired home a magnificent volley.

He did not exactly have the Everton goal at his mercy though as Antonio Valencia stretched to nod a deep Patrice Evra cross into his path 10 minutes before the break.

On the edge of the area, surrounded by visiting defenders, David Moyes might even have been relatively relaxed.

How wrong he would have been. With one swinging boot of the right foot, Fletcher sent the ball curling into the top corner, giving former team-mate Tim Howard no chance.

The goal at least provided United with some tangible reward for their overwhelming domination of possession.

The introduction of Ayegbeni Yakubu for Dan Gosling took a while to have an impact but for a five-minute spell just after the hour mark, it had the hosts in trouble.

Everton’s best chance fell to the Nigerian himself after he had muscled his way round Wes Brown.

Yakubu has scored for three previous clubs — Maccabi Haifa, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough — against United and must have thought he had completed a remarkable four-timer when he sent his shot fizzing towards the bottom corner.

Edwin Van der Sar was struggling but, unfortunately for the visitors, it went just wide.

It was just the invitation United needed to seal the contest.

By his own high standards, Giggs had endured a quiet evening. But, in exactly the right position to retrieve a Wayne Rooney shot that would have gone for a throw, the veteran Welshman quickly spotted Michael Carrick on the edge of the area.

It is just the situation Carrick thrives on and he placed a low, precise shot into the corner, again leaving Howard helpless.

Valencia bagged a third when he strode on to Scholes’s lay-off to ensure United remained five points adrift of Chelsea and, with injuries beginning to bite at Arsenal, the title race already looks to be narrowing to two.