Ruud van Nistelrooy's scoring run in the Champions League continued with four as Manchester United swept aside Sparta Prague at Old Trafford.
The man with the golden touch in Europe has now scored 35 goals in 35 starts.
As usual, all van Nistelrooy's goals came from inside the area and each one contained a trademark of the classic marksman.
Van Nistelrooy was the right man in the right place in the 14th minute for the perfect poaching goal.
Jiri Homola's suicidal back pass from 30 yards out went to van Nistelrooy on the edge of the Sparta box. Keeper Jaromir Blazek tried a last-ditch tackle, but van Nistelrooy kept his feet rounded him and slotted the ball left-footed into the empty net from 12 yards.
His second after 25 minutes was the perfect penalty.
Paul Scholes' charge into the box was ended when he went down under a tackle by Martin Petras, although the Sparta defender looked to have won the ball before the former England man went down.
Luxembourg referee Alain Hamar pointed to the spot and van Nistelrooy coolly placed his penalty low and into the bottom left corner of the net after sending Blazek the wrong way.
It was a good touch on the hour when van Nistelrooy bagged his hat-trick.
He arrived on the end of Gabriel Heinze's long ball on the blind side of Radoslav Kovac around the penalty spot and as Blazek came off his line, the Dutchman chipped his right-foot shot over him and into the net.
That was his sixth hat-trick for United, but van Nistelrooy went one better in the dying seconds.
Liam Miller crossed from the right side of the Sparta penalty area and van Nistelrooy the poacher was left with a simple right-foot tap-in from close range.
On paper this was an easy win, but Sparta gave United's defence some nervous moments.
Their only goal was a super effort eight minutes into the second half.
Prague's star man Lukas Zelenka worked the perfect one-two with Tomas Jun down the left and Zelenka finished with a sweet right-foot shot into the net from 12 yards.
United keeper Roy Carroll made a string of fine saves, the best of which was a double effort late in the first half.
Karel Poborsky's cross from the right was met by Jun on the six-yard box and his crisp shot was well saved.
The ball fell to Zelenka on the far post and Carroll made another stop to keep him out.
But United could have doubled the score.
With Cristiano Ronaldo tearing the Sparta Prague defence apart down both wings, the Portuguese youngster was denied on three occasions by Blazek.
Utd were also unlucky in the fourth minute when a classic move out of defence involving Rio Ferdinand, Scholes and van Nistelrooy ended with Heinze lashing his 20-yard shot against the woodwork.
Sparta Prague had Poborsky sent off three minutes from time.
Booked for dissent after the penalty, he floored Heinze and was shown the red card. The former Red Devils man went off to a standing send-off.