MANCHESTER UNITED.........3
Ronaldo 47, 51 pen. Solskjaer 59. 

WIGAN ATHLETIC.................1
Baines 90 pen.

Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench at half-time and scored two goals in four minutes to condemn Latics to defeat in front of a record high attendance at Old Trafford.

After a first half which saw Latics frustrate the Manchester United attack, Cristiano Ronaldo replaced Darren Fletcher after the break and headed home from Paul Scholes' corner after just two minutes into the second period to give Alex Ferguson's men the lead.

Latics' deficit widened when Gary Teale fouled South Korean winger Ji-Sung Park in the area to give away the penalty. Ronaldo's initial spot kick was well saved by Chris Kirkland but the Portuguese substitute slotted in the rebound to double the lead.

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer made it three goals to the league leaders when Wayne Rooney latched onto a long ball from a United counter attack. The 21-year old lost possession from an Emmerson Boyce challenge but the Norwegian was in the right place at the right time to dispatch the ball past the helpless Kirkland.

Once it was 3-0, it was game over, but Latics still battled away and were unfortunate not to make more of Kevin Kilbane's free-kick in the 68th minute which found the head of Matt Jackson but it was directed straight into the hands of Edwin van der Saar.

Latics did get a consolation goal with virtually the last kick of the game, as Mikael Silvestre felled David Wright in the penalty box to get the penalty. Acting captain Leighton Baines rifling the ball into the corner leaving van der Saar with no chance.

Both teams made wholesale changes to their starting line-ups ahead of the busy festive period. Latics started without captain Arjan De Zeeuw, whilst David Wright and Andreas Johansson were Paul Jewell's preferred central midfield partnership. Sir Alex Ferguson rested both Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, with the latter having to settle for a place on the bench.

David Cotterill replaced Teale during the second half and gave another bright performance. With thirteen minutes to go, the 19-year old danced past Gabriel Heinze and produced a superb right wing cross which was just a little high for Emile Heskey to control at the far post.

However, United then quickly broke on the counter attack and Ronaldo, who is on scintillating form, and his pass found Park on the edge of the box, and slipped the ball through to Rooney, who fired a shot which smacked Kirkland's crossbar. Latics were spared a fourth goal.

But Cotterill threatened again in the 84th minute when he stole possession from Kieran Richardson, before striding into the box and firing just inches wide of Van Der Saar's post.

Jewell opted to try and frustrate the league leaders on their own turf. This worked in the first half as United were restricted to just half-chances, although they did have the lions share of possession. Latics were left to soak up the pressure, with the defence looking pretty solid until Ronaldo's second half brace.

United had a brilliant chance to open the scoring just after the half-hour when right winger Darren Fletcher's accurate diagonal throughball into the penalty area was perfect for Rooney, but the 21-year old directed the ball just the wrong side of Kirkland's right-hand post.

And with four minutes before the break, Paul Scholes drove a thirty-five yard free-kick towards goal, but the ball was safely collected by Chris Kirkland, and Rooney saw his downwards header also land safely into the hands of the Latics goalkeeper after Wes Brown's cross.

With United in unstoppable form it was always going to be tough going for Latics, but they did themselves proud in the first half. The games that matter for Jewell now begin this Saturday with a trip to bottom-of-the-table Watford, and that is certainly a match where all three points are very much in demand.

Latics: Kirkland; Boyce, Hall (Skoko 59), Jackson, Baines ©, Teale (Cotterill 53), Johansson, Wright, Kilbane; Todorov, Heskey.

Unused Subs: Pollitt, Landzaat, Cywka.

Booked: None.

Manchester Utd: Van der Saar ©; Brown, Vidic, Silvestre, Evra (Heinze 70); Fletcher (Ronaldo 46), Scholes (Richardson 63), O'Shea, Park; Rooney, Solksjaer.

Unused Subs: Kuszczak, Saha.

Booked: None.

Referee: Mike Riley.

Assistant Referees: N. Bannister and R. Lewis.

Fourth Official: C. Webster.

Attendance: 76,018