Blackburn Rovers 0 Manchester United 1: Scholes inspires United's surge as Saha puts Rovers to sword

Mark Hughes, a driving force of Sir Alex Ferguson's first Premiership title, was once cast as Brutus, standing uneasily as the old Caesar heard Old Trafford boos for the first time. But then if a week in politics is a long time, a year in football can be an eternity. Now the Blackburn manager, after an at times beautiful re-statement of the meaning of Manchester United, might have been borrowing a quote from his namesake, Marc Antony. His obligation was not to bury Ferguson but to praise him.

There was little choice as United, once again made vibrantly coherent by the sheer intelligence of Paul Scholes, showed that the cautionary headlines after the Carling Cup mishap at Southend were built around an irrelevance.

The Carling Cup, as it has been so often, was an optional extra in the remit of half a side. Here we saw United in pursuit of the core of Ferguson's remaining ambition: a title win that would restore so much of his old glory and make a bonfire of all those claims that he was wrong to linger on the battlefield.

Hughes, who sees much of the thinking that went into Ferguson's first title triumph in the current team, said: "I just think the way they are set up is the same as the team I played with - two wide guys who are full of pace and energy. The two front guys know if they retain the ball in high areas and get it wide, they know quality balls are going to come into the box - which I knew when I was playing. It is a great thing to have. I would have loved to play with Ronaldo, who after the World Cup seems to have got his head completely focused on the job in hand, which is to get another title for Manchester United.

"There are a lot of guys in that team who will be thinking the same way. One thing, though. I wouldn't have been able to read Ronaldo's step-over. Mind you, Andrei Kanchelskis used to drive me nuts as well."

In fact, the only real challenge to Ferguson's equilibrium - and his ascent to the status of football statesman - on a night of tempest was the profligacy of Wayne Rooney and the failure of the referee, Mike Riley, to penalise Brett Emmerton for his mauling of Louis Saha in the penalty area - and Tugay for an unprincipled hack at Ronaldo.

Ferguson, despite the controversy building around the embattled status of referees, argued that Tugay should have paid a much higher price than a brief lecture. But these rants apart, the maintenance of a lovely passing rhythm - and a three-point leadership of the Premiership - was guaranteed to send the manager home with the warm sense of a deeply encouraging work in progress. The nightcap Scotch can rarely have had a more satisfying flavour.

The decisive goal alone was enough to warrant the braving of the wind and the rain: a fine, deep cross by the substitute John O'Shea, replacing Gary Neville, who will miss England's friendly with a recurrence of a calf injury, a magnificent reaching out by Ryan Giggs and return to the heart of the box, and Saha, a little more magisterial with each performance, producing the most deliberate of sword strikes.

Do United really have the game - and the deep strength - to strike back at the Chelsea empire? Perhaps the greatest encouragement is that the fluency inspired by Scholes, and augmented by passages of genuine inspiration from the likes of Rooney, Saha, Giggs and Ronaldo, is getting such solid support at the back.

This was not a night for any flights of fancy by Rio Ferdinand and none were forthcoming. Beside him Nemanja Vidic was so resolute, so hard, he might indeed have been quarried from a Balkan hillside. The proof is in the detail. United have conceded five goals in 12 Premiership games, two better than what we thought was the ultimate obdurate defensive unit in English football, the one marshalled by John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho.

In Ferguson, such security has produced a glow so intense he is even prepared to offer a little ultimate praise. Here he likened Edwin van der Saar's passion for clean sheets along with that of Peter Schmeichel.

Hubris, inevitably, is one obvious danger. Chelsea are not likely to surrender the whole basis of their success so easily. It is a relentless understanding of the need to master that basic of defence and then build, however functionally, the sense that this is a force which has the power to drain the life out of you.

For the moment United's promise is the more uplifting one of producing the classicism of their past.

Despite conditions that were often little short of fiendish, the level achieved by Ferguson's team was at times no less than dazzling. Had Rooney taken chances which were so far within his technical capacity we would now be talking about a red sky above Ewood Park - and maybe all of English football.

As it is, the potential runs high, and will be underpinned as along as Scholes keeps his fitness and his mood. This is a player who, at 31, suggests that he may well be coming into his time, his point of maximum expression. For many he is already an outstanding candidate for player of the year, a combination of character, experience and lasered vision.

In front of him, Rooney made a couple of breathtaking moves either side of missing the chances that would have turned the game into a formal massacre. One headline labelled him a flop. More of another work in progress, when you thought about it. For every miss, you have to pity those who, sooner or later, will have to pay. Even Chelsea may feel a flicker of apprehension.

Goals: Saha (64) 0-1.

Blackburn Rovers: (4-4-2) Friedel; Emmerton, Khizanishvili, Ooijer, Neill; Bentley (Peter, 79), Mokoena, Tugay, Pedersen; McCarthy, Nonda (Jeffers, 84). Substitutes not used: Brown (gk) Henchoz, Gray.

Manchester United (4-4-2) : Van der Saar; Neville (O'Shea, 46), Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra (Silvestre, 89); Ronaldo (Fletcher, 90), Carrick, Scholes, Giggs; Rooney, Saha. Substitutes not used: Kuszczak (gk), Brown.

Referee: M Riley (West Yorkshire).

Booked: Blackburn Mokoena, McCarthy, Khizanishvili, Peter; Manchester United Vidic, Rooney, Evra.

Man of the match: Scholes.

Attendance: 26,162.