Sir Alex Ferguson made a perfect end to his 50th year in football as Manchester United recorded a 5-0 win over Stoke at Old Trafford. Ronaldo opened the Reds account with his 100th goal for the club, after just three minutes - he completed the scoring in similar fashion.

"That is nine for the season now," Ferguson added. "I am sure he will be into double figures very soon.

"Overall, he has scored 101 times in 253 appearances, which is an unbelievable return for a winger.

"He is back now that's for sure. We have been waiting for him to get a free-kick and the power he hit the first one with was very impressive."

Ferguson is also confident record signing Dimitar Berbatov will reach 20 goals for the campaign after the Bulgarian scored just after half-time.

Michael Carrick was also on target but the plaudits were reserved for England Under-19 striker Danny Welbeck who marked his league debut with a goal.

Ferguson added: "The scoreline was fantastic, but I didn't think we played that well in the first half. Stoke did very well, they kept their midfield close to the back four and were very difficult to break down.

"Maybe we scored too early, but the speed of our game wasn't as good as it normally is.

"But the goal at half time killed Stoke and, in the second half, we played some great football with some great goals."