Premier League: Manchester United 2 West Brom 0

Manchester United cruised to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion thanks to a Wayne Rooney double.

A fairly one-sided affair at Old Trafford was dominated by the champions, who were wasteful for much of the game.

A moment of pure opportunism and a coolly taken penalty from Rooney secured all three points for Alex Ferguson’s side, while the visitors were thwarted by David de Gea on the few occasions they managed to break out of their own half.

Despite an early spell of dominance from the home side, it was Roy Hodgon’s men who created the first clear-cut opportunity.

After Liam Ridgewell had done well to reach the byline down the United left, the defender cut the ball back to the unmarked Keith Andrews who somehow managed to prod wide from six yards out.

United responded with both Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young coming close before Andrews stung the palms of the ever-improving De Gea from a free-kick.

The hosts enjoyed nearly 70 percent possession in the opening half-hour and it was not long before their dominance was transformed into a half-time lead.

After an assist from Javier Hernandez, Rooney produced a superb piece of opportunism to sneak ahead of Ben Foster and put hid side into the lead.

United started the second half on top as Hernandez produced a powerful effort that fired back off the woodwork.

There was to be no respite for the West Brom defence as the United onslaught continued, with Welbeck firing inexplicably wide with just Foster to beat.

Any chance of a fightback from Hodgson’s side dissipated when Jonas Olsson was sent off for a second yellow card, before Andrews felled Young in the penalty area.

Rooney stepped up and coolly slotted home his 20th league goal of the season, sending Foster the wrong way.

Hodgson introduced the energetic Shane Long with 20 minutes to go and the Irishman almost made an immediate impact, forcing De Gea into a smart save at his front post.

United saw out the comfortable victory to move top of the table after rivals Manchester City lost 1-0 at Swansea.