United 5 Spurs 2

Games at Old Trafford should come with a health warning which should clearly state that they are not for the faint-hearted.

Having begun the month with a last-gasp victory over Aston Villa, the Reds ended it in similarly dramatic fashion after coming from two goals down to seal a stunning 5-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur which moved United three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the table.

Darren Bent and Luca Modric had given the visitors a shock two-goal lead at half-time, but Sir Alex’s men stormed back after the break thanks to a brace apiece from the outstanding Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo and another from Dimitar Berbatov.

The Bulgarian was one of five players who returned to the starting line-up after sitting out the victory over Harry Redknapp’s former side, Portsmouth, three days earlier. Rafael da Silva, who had filled in at right-back against Pompey following injuries to Gary Neville and John O'Shea, carried on where he left off, while Nani, Michael Carrick, a scorer in midweek after coming off the bench, and Rio Ferdinand were also back in the first XI. There was, however, no place for Ryan Giggs who watched on from the stands knowing he would have to wait for another day, most probably Wednesday against Arsenal, to make his 800th appearance in a red shirt.

United began the match in second following Liverpool’s earlier victory at Hull and the Reds immediately set about regaining top spot. Berbatov almost had the first sight of goal after just