United link-up play delights Fergie

Published Nov. 28, 2010 9:45 a.m. ET

foxsports

Sir Alex Ferguson insists Wayne Rooney must take much of the credit for Manchester United's 7-1 thrashing of Blackburn on Saturday.

Five-goal Dimitar Berbatov's second hat-trick of the season in the Premier League encounter at Old Trafford took his overall tally to 12.

However, while he grabbed all the headlines, Rooney's contribution should not be overlooked.

The England striker is still searching for his first goal in open play since September.

He was a major influence on this encounter, though, with Ferguson quick to praise his partnership with Berbatov.

"He and Wayne were fantastic today," said the United boss.

"They were a constant threat. Their movement, passing and one-twos. It was a top performance by both of them.

"They have an understanding from the previous two years. It is very pleasing to get that."

It was an assessment Berbatov agreed with.

"Wayne knows how I play and I know how he plays," he said.

"We understand each other's games well. We showed that on the pitch.

"We work hard on the training ground and sometimes it just works out."

Park Ji-sung netted an excellent second for United before Berbatov pounced on Pascal Chimbonda's woeful back pass to effectively seal victory by half-time.

Nani scored after the break in a blinding start in which Berbatov also completed his hat-trick, before adding two more, and narrowly failing to become the first player to score six in a Premier League game when Paul Robinson palmed away his goalbound header.

"It was a fantastic achievement," said Ferguson.

"When strikers are not scoring they don't think they are doing their job right. That has always been the case. Today it came back."

Christopher Samba netted a consolation for Blackburn near the end but manager Sam Allardyce admitted his side had been badly beaten.

"This won't be any easy one for us to forget," he reflected.

"We were completely outplayed and have just gone under.

"Berbatov gets a lot of criticism but he has great ability and is a quality finisher.

"It is unfortunate for him that he has a laid-back attitude. But for me he has always been top quality."