Beckham the provider for vintage United

Manchester United 4 Sunderland 1

If you see anybody with a superior grin on their face that says "How clever am I?" then it is highly likely that they are one of the enlightened few who backed Manchester United to win the Premiership at the peak of their "slump".

The price of 11-1 that was available just six weeks ago is now the stuff of legend and as this facile victory showed the bookmakers' generosity was as foolish as it was uncharacteristic. With Arsenal's slip-up at Highbury, Alex Ferguson was at his most laconic in pointing out the obvious in saying: "It has been a good day for us". A few more days such as this and the Premiership trophy will be taking its familiar journey up the M6 to Old Trafford.

The 10th League victory in 11 games again owed much to Ruud van Nistelrooy, the Dutchman's 17th and 18th goals in the Premiership this season crushing the Sunderland uprising. After Kevin Phillips had cancelled out Phil Neville's sixth-minute opener, David Beckham had reclaimed the lead with a free-kick in the 25th minute. But Sunderland were still at the races. Then two goals by Van Nistelrooy in 15 minutes made it a one-horse affair. His first was straight from the striker's textbook. A swivel and right foot hit the ball so hard that it barely gave Jürgen Macho time to get out of the way.

"Van Nistelrooy's finish was fantastic, he is a powerful player," Ferguson said of the Netherlands international, who is now the Premiership's joint leading scorer – alongside Thierry Henry and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. But despite Van Nistelrooy's prolific form, the true inspiration behind this victory was Beckham. Goldenballs is back to his precious best after his loss of form before Christmas and he has clearly benefited from his break.

With Beckham in such form it is not hard to see why Ferguson was happy to let Juan Sebastian Veron return to Rome. Ferguson claims the £28m midfielder has a knee injury and needs to rest, but he may just be taking him out of the firing line a la Beckham. Rumours of a return trip to Italy are bound to gain credence especially as Veron was spotted at Lazio's training ground on Saturday.

Whatever happens, on the evidence of these 90 minutes, United do not and would not miss him. Ferguson was quick to acknowledge Beckham's contribution. "David was fantastic. He ran a million miles with good quality to it. Some people can run all day and not give you any quality, but David produced good quality."

Peter Reid, the Sunderland manager, was only too aware of this quality and was furious that the referee, Rob Styles, appeared to give Beckham a helping hand. Styles had looked to have awarded an indirect free-kick for a foul on Ryan Giggs but as the ball sailed in, untouched, from Beckham's boot the stone-faced referee ignored Sunderland's protestations.

But when you're down, you're down. And Reid's side are most definitely down. The defeat means they have still not won since Boxing Day and have slipped ever closer to the relegation zone. They are three points off the bottom three and must go to their fellow strugglers Derby on Saturday. The assistant manager Adrian Heath indicated the despair in the camp. "Of course we're worried. It's a case of getting back to the drawing board, and getting a good week's training under our belts," he said.

A trip to Charlton awaits United who have an inviting run that includes, Aston Villa, Derby and Spurs. As ever, Ferguson cannot see his team running away with it. "I can't see teams dropping off so easily. Normally it comes down to two, but there are so many involved that it's going to go to the wire."

Goals: P Neville (6) 1-0; Phillips (12) 1-1; Beckham (25) 2-1; Van Nistelrooy (28) 3-1; Van Nistelrooy pen (44) 4-1.

Manchester Utd (4-4-2): Barthez 5; P Neville 5, G Neville 6, Blanc 6 (Forlan 6, 64), Silvestre 6; Beckham 9, Keane 6 (Butt, 79), Scholes 6, Giggs 6 (O'Shea 6, 64); Solskjaer 6, Van Nistelrooy 8. Substitutes not used: Carroll (gk), Irwin.

Sunderland (4-4-2): Macho 6; Haas 5 (McCartney 5, 61), Craddock 5, Varga 6 (Arca 5, h-t), Bjorklund 5; Gray 6, Williams 5, Reyna 5, McAteer 5 (Quinn 5, 61); Kilbane 5, Phillips 6. Substitutes not used: Ingham (gk), Bellion.

Referee: R Styles (Waterlooville) 5.

Bookings: Sunderland Bjorklund, Varga, Reyna.

Man of the match: Beckham.

Attendance: 67,587.