THE INDIE
The cry from the away end was "Chelsea are going to catch you" - although not if Sir Alex Ferguson's team continue to pick off the opposition as clinically as this. Five games left, six points clear - now the test of nerve falls upon Jose Mourinho's side tonight at Upton Park as the Premiership waits to see who blinks first at the top.
Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney did the damage, while the Blades provided the needle, although Sheffield United were grossly unlucky not to be awarded a penalty when Gabriel Heinze tripped Luton Shelton. The injury to Patrice Evra will be of greater concern to Ferguson; apart from that his team resisted some gentle provocation.
Patched up in defence, unstoppable in attack. Manchester United have nothing to fear when they tear sides apart as comprehensively as they did Sheffield United in the early stages last night, but it will be in defending against the likes of Milan and Chelsea that they may have more concern. With just 21 minutes gone last night an injured Evra took his leave of the game.
He joined Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic among the injured: the first-choice back four at United are now all in different stages of recovery, while Mikaël Silvestre is not due back this season. Ferguson could blame a very crude challenge from Colin Kazim-Richards, studs up on Evra's calf, for that one.
In fact, there was much for the Manchester United manager to shake his head at in the first half, despite his side taking the lead within five minutes. There was also a lunge from Matthew Kilgallon, studs up again, that connected with Alan Smith's thigh and tore his shorts.
Neil Warnock's side had lined up with Phil Jagielka playing in front of a back four that often became a back five and they did well to calm the early blitz from the home side without conceding more than one. The Premiership leaders passed the ball beautifully, red shirts flowing in torrents around and past their opponents, a murderous scoreline in the offing.
The goal came from Carrick who, of late, seems to have reinvented himself as the Frank Lampard of the North-west. This was his sixth goal of the season, so he has some way to go to catch the midfielder with 21 already, but he seems to be cropping up in much more advanced positions. Smith knocked the ball down to Cristiano Ronaldo, who slipped it through the away defence and Carrick sent a low chip over Paddy Kenny.
There should have been another a minute later when Rooney took a long ball down, beat Rob Kozluk and hit his shot straight at Kenny. The England striker never really settled after that, his temper worn away by some close attention by Warnock's defence and a burst of "You let your country down" from the away fans. He was booked for a lunge at Phil Jagielka.
There was a speck of hope for Sheffield United in the frustration of the home side and the pace of Shelton running at Wes Brown and Heinze. The hope was brutally extinguished when, five minutes into the second half, Ryan Giggs clipped a perfect ball that Rooney took with the outside of his right foot and then dispatched past Kenny.
That goal should have been the end of it but for all the lateness of their challenges and edgy tackling, Warnock's side did not roll over. Mourinho will have raised an eyebrow at a late nip at Carrick which had the man of the moment hobbling for a few minutes. Mourinho will have noticed that the away support broke into a chant of his name - in a desperate attempt to wake the soporific home crowd from their quiet contemplation.
THE GUARDIAN
There have been times this season when Manchester United have blown away their opponents with the sheer quality of their football and times when they have won without hitting top form. The supporters inside Old Trafford may be disappointed that this was not one of the more illuminating nights but it was probably unrealistic to expect the Premiership leaders to scintillate every week and Sir Alex Ferguson's face was still suffused with a broad smile at the final whistle.
They may not have come close to their most exhilarating heights but it is another match ticked off and the goals from Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney restore the gap at the top of the table to six points. Neil Warnock complained, legitimately, that his side had been denied an obvious penalty when Gabriel Heinze brought down Luton Shelton but the home side's victory was deserved and the pressure is switched to Chelsea as they prepare to play their game in hand, against West Ham at Upton Park tonight.
Jose Mourinho sent Ferguson a congratulatory text message last week after both managers reached the Champions League semi-finals. On this occasion, however, it is difficult to imagine the Chelsea manager being so magnanimous. He is unlikely to have been impressed by Warnock's decision to field a weakened side - the Premiership's 17th-placed team did not lack in terms of endeavour but it was clear they had one eye on Saturday's relegation skirmish against Charlton Athletic.
The gulf between the two Uniteds was obvious throughout and it was a surprise that Ferguson's players had to wait until the second half to soothe the crowd's nerves, bearing in mind that they were leading after only four minutes.
When Carrick latched on to Cristiano Ronaldo's perfectly weighted through ball to lift an adroit finish over Paddy Kenny some of the visiting players had not even muddied their knees. Thereafter, however, they defended with spirit and tenacity. They were quick to the ball and strong in the tackle and when Patrice Evra joined Manchester United's lengthy list of injured, having been scythed down by Colin Kazim-Richards, it seemed to disrupt the home side's fluency.
Ferguson was already missing both his first-choice centre-halves and had a midfielder, Darren Fletcher, deputising at right-back. There was no place in the starting XI either for Edwin van der Sar, whose relegation to the bench can be attributed to his first prolonged period of poor form in two otherwise impressive seasons.
A better side than Sheffield United might have done more to examine his replacement, Tomasz Kuszczak, but apart from a few flashes from the pacy, exciting Shelton the visitors seldom caused Ferguson's makeshift defence any problems. The game was all but ended as a contest four minutes after half-time by Rooney's 20th goal of the season - his best-ever tally in a year when, paradoxically, his form has come under more scrutiny than at any time since he joined the club.
THE TELEGRAPH
In helping Manchester United move six points clear of Chelsea last night, Wayne Rooney struck his 20th goal of the season, a magnificent finish bringing his best ever return, yet he is still short of the target agreed with his manager. "He promised me 25 goals so maybe I'll make the money back that I lost off [Cristiano] Ronaldo!'' smiled Sir Alex Ferguson.
Manchester United's manager had wagered Ronaldo that he would not score more than 15 and paid up, willingly, as the prolific Portuguese progressed towards his current total of 21. Ferguson's pre-season challenges to his attackers are paying spectacular dividends for the club in their pursuit of the Treble.
Ferguson's pride in the tallies of Rooney and Ronaldo is intensified by their contributions in the assists column. Ronaldo failed to score against an ultra-defensive Sheffield United side, but he did conjure up a moment of real magic to release Michael Carrick for the hosts' first. Ryan Giggs, gilding his 500th league appearance with some glittering touches, created Rooney's goal.
As well as making it 20 for the season, Rooney appeared intent on settling some scores with Sheffield United's more physical players and the short-fused forward must tread far more cautiously against AC Milan's crafty operatives next week. Gennaro Gattuso would not find it difficult to wind up Rooney.
Sheffield United really only came to life after Rooney's goal, moments into the second half, and they got more bodies forward in support of the lonely, if occasionally lively Luton Shelton, the Jamaican making his first start. "They got men behind the ball and we didn't play as well as we can,'' Giggs said. "In our last four games we've scored a lot, but it's not going to be like that every time. Sometimes, 1-0 or 2-0 does it. It's about getting the result.''
The one painful moment of the night for the Premiership leaders was the calf injury that ended the involvement of Patrice Evra, who was badly caught by Colin Kazim-Richards. Amazingly, Kazim-Richards received only a mild lecture from Rob Styles.
Ferguson condemned a "bad tackle'' and confirmed that the French left-back "will have a scan'' this morning. "We ended up with two midfielders playing full-back, Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher, and it was a great challenge for them but they came through it,'' said Ferguson, who added that he would have Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea available against Middlesbrough on Saturday. "All our games are cup finals now,'' said Ferguson, whose thoughts then turned to Chelsea's trip to Upton Park tonight. "West Ham are fighting for their lives.''
THE TIMES
It was, as Sir Alex Ferguson reasoned, a more economical Manchester United that reared its head at Old Trafford last night, not the emphatic one that had plundered a plethora of goals the previous week, but the outcome, nonetheless, was still the same and the message equally defiant.
A 2-0 victory over Sheffield United moved United six points clear at the top of the Barclays Premiership, but while that lead may well prove short-lived with Chelsea playing West Ham United at Upton Park this evening, the pressure is back on the champions to produce in a title race that has come to resemble a classic game of ping pong.
It was not all good news, with a calf injury to Patrice Evra that will require a scan to-day adding to Ferguson's deepening defensive woes, but it seems that only a Devon Loch-style collapse will now stand between United and a first Premiership title for four years.
Ferguson claimed beforehand that he believes United will "end up with a trophy" and, similarly, Sheffield United showed enough conviction to suggest that they will avoid the drop, even if this defeat means that their match away to Charlton Athletic on Saturday has the look of a relegation decider.
This game might have taken on a different hue had Sheffield United been awarded a penalty in the 69th minute when Gabriel Heinze clearly brought down the lively Luton Shelton, but while Neil Warnock, the Sheffield United manager, continues to stare downwards, Ferguson is only looking up, albeit with one eye on Chelsea.
"There are five games to go now and all those games are cup finals," Ferguson said. "Obviously West Ham are fighting for their lives, we saw that with Sheffield United and we have got to expect it, and West Ham will be doing that again tomorrow night."
It was a strange match and one that, after the 7-1 thrashing of AS Roma in the Champions League quarter-finals and the 4-1 victory over Watford in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, almost had an anticlimactic feel to it.
As good as Manchester United were for long spells, they also looked like conceding, especially when Evra made way in the 21st minute after being caught on the calf by a high boot from Colin Kazim-Richards to be replaced by Kieran Richardson.
It meant that United were playing with two midfield players at full back and with Heinze, in particular, looking susceptible alongside Wes Brown, it hardly made for a convincing back line.