Fulham 2 Manchester United 3: Manchester United's return to 4-4-2 was so profitable that the fans who barracked Alex Ferguson a week earlier could have only one grievance: why had it taken so long for him to work it out? The shift in personnel provoked an invigorating performance that went some way to eradicating supporters' complaints that Ferguson and his ever-prominent assistant Carlos Queiroz believe tactics are little white things that taste of spearmint.

When it was put to Ferguson that his side had benefited from starting with Wayne Rooney alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy, United's manager shook his head and argued, rather feebly, that it was the same system he had used in the past three matches.

Ferguson has never been very good at admitting mistakes and there was never going to be an admission he had blundered in previous games, especially when it appeared as if he had made the tweak because of the fans' criticisms.

There is probably not a club in the Champions League that operates a rigid 4-4-2 but, judging by the exhilarating nature of their attacking, United could yet be the exception if Rio Ferdinand and his defensive colleagues can attain that they-shall-not-pass mentality established in the previous regime of Bruce, Pallister et al.

Abandoning the more prosaic 4-3-2-1 formation, they shimmered with menace and their passing, movement, anticipation and speed of thought would probably have made this compelling match far less problematic were it not for their defensive shortcomings.

To dwell too much on Ferdinand's foibles might seem churlish after what was, in essence, a highly satisfactory day for United, but Ferguson was entitled to grizzle about "slack defending", and Fulham's manager Chris Coleman, a man who knows a thing or two about the basics of centre-half play, was equally unimpressed.

"United play great, attacking football, but we felt we could hurt them because defensively they're not great," he said. "Edwin van der Sar is probably their best goalkeeper since Peter Schmeichel, but they are still shaky, and it was one of those games: which defence is going to make the most mistakes? Unfortunately it was us, but they do give you chances."

Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant Tord Grip will certainly have noted Ferdinand's vulnerability when Collins John opened the scoring, and again when he failed to cut out Claus Jensen's free-kick and the ball spun past Van der Sar.

Perhaps it would not be so worrying for Ferguson if Jensen's fluke had been a rare occurrence, but Morten Gamst Pedersen did the same for Blackburn at Old Trafford the previous weekend.

Ferdinand's reluctance to attack the ball was to blame on both occasions, and Coleman even seemed to suggest Eriksson should drop him for the World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Poland.

"My first choice would be John Terry because he's the most reliable centre-back in the country," he said. "Then you've got Sol Campbell coming back. He's got great experience and if he's back to his best I wouldn't look further than them. Rio's ability is not in doubt - but you have to look at who's playing well."

Coleman's criticism is unlikely to provoke even the mildest complaint from Old Trafford judging by the boos from the United fans when Ryan Giggs went off and handed the captain's armband to Ferdinand. Ferguson would certainly have noted the dissent, although he will have found it preferable to being jeered himself and, for that, he is indebted to his most penetrative players.

This was certainly Park Ji-sung's most productive game since his summer move from PSV Eindhoven, the highlight being the foraging run that concluded with Moritz Volz barging him over for a penalty.

Giggs is playing once again with a panache that makes him one of the country's most exhilarating forwards and, with Park pressing on the right, there were times when United operated with a 4-2-4 formation.

Van Nistelrooy tucked his penalty past Mark Crossley and added his ninth goal of the season after a flowing move that Ferguson later described as "scintillating", and Rooney conjured up a performance of swaggering arrogance and scored United's second from another sweet exchange of passes.

They were helped by some benevolent Fulham defending and Coleman's players will need to swot up about the offside law.