Manchester United hammer 5 past Bolton

Wayne Rooney scored three goals and Javier Hernandez added two to help Manchester United rout Bolton 5-0 to continue its perfect start in the Premier League.

United followed up its 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal with another high-scoring display, as Hernandez netted the opener after just four minutes before Rooney added another two before halftime.

"We've concentrated on ourselves," Rooney said. "We knew it was going to be a difficult game, we focused, made sure we got the win and thankfully the win was a bit easier than we thought."

Hernandez made it 4-0 in the 58th before Rooney made it 10 goals in his last six appearances for United and England midway through the second half.

It was Rooney's second straight hat trick in the league after also scoring three against Arsenal.

United tops the table with 12 points from four games, ahead of Manchester City on goal difference.

The only downside for United manager Alex Ferguson was more injury concerns, with Tom Cleverley limping off with a suspected foot fracture after a tough challenge from Bolton captain Kevin Davies.

"We think it is a broken foot," Ferguson said. "It is unfortunate. It is a bad one. It was a bad tackle. We endured that. We kept playing our football. That was the important thing."

The visitors took the lead with their first real attack when Nani's whipped cross from the right was touched in from close range by Hernandez.

Davies was then given his 100th yellow card in the Premier League for a tackle on Patrice Evra.

The hosts briefly threatened to equalize, with Jonny Evans blocking an effort from Ivan Klasnic and Rooney clearing Chris Eagles' follow-up before David De Gea turned away a powerful Klasnic shot.

But United doubled their advantage when Phil Jones' cross from the right was touched in by Rooney at the far post in the 20th. Rooney added his second just five minutes later, when a fine run by Jones ended with his shot being blocked by Jussi Jaaskelainen, only for the England striker to prod in.

De Gea pulled off another impressive save when he held Klasnic's 25-yard effort just after halftime, and United moved further in front in the 58th when Nani's run into the area was halted by Dedryck Boyata's challenge and Michael Carrick's blocked shot was turned in at the far post by Hernandez.

Rooney completed his hat trick in the 68th when Nani picked him out on the edge of the area and the England forward found the corner with a curling shot.

"We paid the price for probably every mistake we made in the game but the Premier League is ruthless," Bolton manager Owen Coyle said. "I know people will say that goals win you games and they've scored five and we haven't, but there was never five goals between the teams."

United have now won 12 of their last 14 Premier League matches against Bolton and have scored 18 goals in their opening four games of the season.