United are in charge of the table with 38 points, three ahead of second-placed Chelsea as the chase continues at the summit.

At the Old Trafford, Red Devils were ahead five minutes before the break when Michael Carrick's shot hit a defender and went into the path of Cristiano Ronaldo, who drilled a right-footed low shot into the bottom corner of the net.

The former Sporting Lisbon winger created another chance three minutes later when he picked out Wayne Rooney on the edge of the area before the England international curled a low drive that was tipped by Everton keeper Richard Wright.

French full-back Patrice Evra doubled the lead in the 63rd minute after he overlapped to receive Rooney's neat pass and goes face-to-face with the keeper before poking home under his body.

John O'Shea put the icing on the cake two minutes before the final whistle when he connected with Evra's cross from the left-flank to convert it into the roof of the net from close range.

Elsewhere, defending champions Chelsea snatched a 1-0 away victory over Bolton, thanks to Michael Ballack's header.

In the first-half, Chelsea dominated in terms of possession but found it hard to break through Bolton's resilient defense.

Germany skipper Ballack scored what proved to be the winner just before the interval when he rose at the near post to head home Frank Lampard's corner.

In other match, 10-man Arsenal suffered their second successive defeat after losing 2-1 at Fulham, who grabbed their first win over the English giants in 40 years.

Brian McBride broke the deadlock after just five minutes when Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann couldn't deal with his backward header.

Tomas Radzinski doubled the lead in the 18th minute as he netted in the empty net after being fed by Luis Boa Morte's low cross.

Dutch forward Robin van Persie pulled one back for the visitors in the 35th minute when he curled a stunning free-kick into the back of the net.

Arsenal's Swiss defender Philippe Senderos was sent-off six minutes past the hour mark after receiving a second booking following a challenge on Boa Morte, who was on one-on-one situation with the keeper.

The result left Arsenal in sixth place with 22 points while Everton lie ninth on 21 points.