Gallery: Black Cats tamed

Manchester United maintained a six-point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League with a convincing 3-1 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford.

The Reds started the match knowing title rivals Manchester City had earlier beaten Newcastle and wasted little time in taking the lead with Robin van Persie guiding the ball past Simon Mignolet to score on 16 minutes.

Moments later, Tom Cleverley combined with Michael Carrick to finish into the bottom corner and double the Reds’ advantage, before Wayne Rooney added a third after the break following some excellent work from strike partner van Persie.

The Black Cats bagged a consolation strike with time running out thanks to ex-Red Fraizer Campbell, who finished at the back post shortly after United club captain Nemanja Vidic made a triumphant return, replacing Rio Ferdinand midway through the second-half.

As ever, club photographers John and Matt Peters were in attendance at the Theatre of Dreams and we’ve compiled a gallery of their best images to help retell the story of Saturday’s game.

More: United 3 Sunderland 1 | Watch match highlights