Manchester United 3 Hull City 0

Manchester United are back up to fourth spot after a controlled and dominant performance against Hull City at Old Trafford.

Former United hero Steve Bruce was celebrating his 700th game in management but received little sentiment at his old haunt.

Louis Van Gaal's side were in the ascendancy from the off and took the lead in the 16th miute after Chris Smalling scrambled the ball home from a corner, with the referee receiving the signal to say the ball had just crept over the line.

United were dealt yet another injury blow after Angel Di Maria pulled up holding his hamstring, but soon after his departure Wayne Rooney put the game to bed with a lovely finish from the edge of the box.

The second half continued in a similar vein to the first, with the visitors barely getting a sniff.

Robin Van Persie, who came under heavy criticism this week following his poor performance against Arsenal last week, was much improved and made it three with a stunning strike after 66 minutes.

He was substituted shortly after for Radamel Falcao, and United played the rest of the game out in cruise control.