The champions reclaimed second spot after Arsenal had temporarily moved ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson's men earlier in the day after their win over Aston Villa. Wayne Rooney tapped home in the first half and then his poor pass contributed to Hull's penalty equaliser, before his second-half cross was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Andy Dawson. And Rooney was not finished there as he laid on United's third goal for Dimitar Berbatov with eight minutes remaining. United welcomed back a clutch of key defenders. After last week's injury-influenced horror show at Fulham, Ferguson was able to recall Rafael da Silva, Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic. That meant Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick could return to midfield roles while Ryan Giggs and Berbatov also made starts. And Giggs was inches away from scoring from a 16th-minute free-kick after Rooney went down under a Kamil Zayatte challenge, his shot curling into the side netting. Hull appealed for a penalty after making a rare break on 21 minutes but Wes Brown's challenge as Richard Garcia raced onto a Craig Fagan ball was deemed fair. Hull were unlucky not to take the lead after piecing together a brilliant move in the 28th minute. Garcia sparked the attack with a weaving run before finding Fagan out wide. Fagan's perfect cross was met on the volley by Seyi Olofinjana on the six-yard line but Tomasz Kuszczak saved to his right. The Tigers spurned another good opportunity as Olofinjana found Stephen Hunt on the left but the Irishman shot tamely across goal. Rafael then beat the offside trap at the end of an intricate move on the edge of the box but Boaz Myhill saved brilliantly from the Brazilian. Pressure finally paid off as Hull failed to clear a Fletcher cross from the right and Rooney tapped in from close range. Hull's heads didn't drop after the break and they drew level on the hour mark when Rooney's short backpass was picked up by Fagan. The Hull forward then picked out Jozy Altidore, who was pushed in the back by Rafael, at the back post. Referee Mike Riley pointed to the spot and Fagan sent Kuszczak the wrong way to level the scores. But Rooney made amends on 73 minutes. The England star got away down the right and slide the ball across the goal only for Dawson to turn it into his own net from just two yards out. And 10 minutes later Rooney escaped again, this time down the left, before sliding a perfect pass for Berbatov to tap home from close range.
