Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson expects Antonio Valencia to carry on scoring in the second-half of the season.

To Wigan's chagrin last night, the architect of their demoralising defeat was Valencia, the Ecuador winger they sold to United for £16m during the summer.

Valencia, signed to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, unhinged his old team's defence time and again, setting up three goals before scoring the fifth himself, and Ferguson said: "The really important thing for us is that Antonio scored another goal [his sixth of the season]. That was key for him.

"He'll get a lot more."