Manchester United chalked up an eighth successive Premier League win, but were given a helping hand in a 2-0 victory over 10-man Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford.
Wayne Rooney and the excellent Paul Scholes scored the goals for the champions, but relegation battlers QPR were on the end of two dubious decisions in the opening quarter of an hour.
Rooney, who was fortunate to escape punishment for an earlier rash challenge on Samba Diakite, drilled the Red Devils in front from the penalty spot after an incident which saw Shaun Derry sent off.
The QPR captain was penalised for an apparent tug on Ashley Young, but the United winger made the most of any contact and was also offside when the ball was played into the box.
QPR were already struggling to get a foothold in the game at that stage and, despite the occasional foray into the opposition half, spent most of the match penned in by the leaders.
Danny Welbeck's profligacy was a cause for angst, and Rafael da Silva was denied by a combination of Paddy Kenny and the crossbar, before the irrepressible Scholes put the game beyond doubt by rifling home from 25 yards on 68 minutes.
Michael Carrick then smacked a thunderbolt against the post, but it was his midfield cohort Scholes who earned the plaudits with a performance which could strengthen the calls for the 37-year-old to be called into England's Euro 2012 squad.
