Manchester United 3 West Ham 0

Zola opted to rest midfielder Scott Parker as a precaution after the midfielder reported a tight muscle before the game, and his presence was sorely missed by the Irons.

But the visitors held their own for most of the first half, scrapping for every ball against a team they have struggled to deal with in recent encounters.

They even fashioned some chances of their own, notably when Valon Behrami lashed the ball wide after being played in by Alessandro Diamanti.

United were struggling to get into gear and saw Robert Green make a smart save to deny Antonio Valencia and Dimitar Berbatov in quick succession.

But it was the in-form Rooney, top scorer in the Premier League this season, who made the decisive breakthrough just before half-time.

Ji-Sung Park passed to Berbatov and his cross was met on the volley by Valencia, teeing the ball up for Rooney to crash home a header.

The goal seemed to relax the home side and they went for the Hammers in the second half, almost doubling their lead within seconds of the restart when Park hit the bar.

And on 55 minutes Rooney did make it 2-0, again heading past Green from a Valencia cross.

With Michael Owen coming off the bench there was little respite for the Hammers and the former England man made it 3-0 on 80 minutes when he raced clear of the defence to score.

West Ham were annoyed play hadn't been brought back after Mark Noble went down with an injury but they can have few complaints at the result in a game where they were second best for most of the 90 minutes.

Zola, who was bouyant after the Irons hammered Hull at home on Saturday, was more subdued after defeat by the champions.

He said: "I'm not very pleased, to be honest. I think we were okay until they scored the first goal and, after that, we should've done more.

"I liked the way we occupied the pitch in the first half. We showed composure and played some good football. I take that as a positive but, to be honest, I'm expecting a lot more from my team.

"We didn't do as well as we normally do up front. Guillermo Franco and Carlton Cole couldn't control the ball properly and it was different."

West Ham could have done with someone like Rooney to lead the line and Zola admitted his form was something his side could not live with.

He said: "I described Wayne Rooney as a King Midas. Everything he touches now turns to gold. He's in the type of form where every opportunity can turn up a goal.

"I thought he had a normal game tonight but he still scored two goals and he could have had another one. That says a lot about the player."

Manchester United: Foster, Neville, Evra, Brown, Vidic, Anderson (Park, 19), Scholes, Valencia, Gibson, Berbatov (Owen, 78), Rooney (Diouf, 78). Unused subs: Kuszczak, Rafael Da Silva, Evans, Fletcher.

Goals: Rooney 38, 55, Owen 80

West Ham: Green, Faubert, Spector, Upson, Tomkins, Behrami (Collison, 63), Noble, Kovac, Diamanti (Dyer, 75), Cole, Franco (Mido, 46). Unused subs: Stech, Da Costa, Daprela, Ilan.

Booked: Faubert

Attendance: 73,797

Referee: Alan Wiley