Premier League: Manchester United 3 Bolton 0

Manchester United beat Bolton 3-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday, with Paul Scholes scoring his first goal since coming out of retirement.

Scholes scored his first goal after his surprise return from retirement before Danny Welbeck and Michael Carrick chimed in to draw United level with rivals Manchester City.

Bolton shot-stopper Adam Bogdan pulled off a remarkable first-half penalty save from Wayne Rooney after Zat Knight felled Welbeck, but Scholes re-opened his professional account on the stroke of half-time with a cool finish.

Welbeck buried an overdue second on 75 minutes but was injured in the process, before Carrick’s finely placed effort from 30 yards out in the 83rd minute sealed the victory.

United came close to a perfect start when Rooney sent Nani through past former Red Devil Chris Eagles, but the Portuguese shot comfortably wide.

Five minutes in, Michael Carrick delivered an incisive through-ball for Danny Welbeck but the England striker’s shot was well parried by Bogdan.

The game settled, though, and the Hungarian was not called into action again for 10 minutes, when he intervened decisively to bat away a tricky low cross in a congested penalty area.

After 20 minutes, Knight upended Welbeck in the area for a clear penalty to United, the only surprise being that he received only a yellow for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Rooney stepped up confidently but Bogdan heroically sprang to his right to turn the spot-kick behind.

The young ‘keeper proved his mettle again soon after when Welbeck let fly from range having cut inside from the left flank. A low dive allowed the Hungarian to push the shot past the woodwork.

After a scrappy period, Rooney again tested Bogdan, this time from a free-kick curled around the wall, but the ball fell into the youngster’s arms with ease as a half-time stalemate loomed.

The hosts’ talisman was again at fault when he slipped in making the key touch as United put together a thrilling counter-attack, his attempted flick into the path of the unmarked Welbeck clumsy and intercepted by the goalkeeper.

Just as it seemed that United would have nothing to show for a dominant half, Rooney picked up a loose ball in the area in stoppage-time and passed across the box where Scholes arrived to dispatch it for the lead.

Early in the second half, David Ngog wasted the first real Bolton chance of the game, lifting a rash shot well from a useful close-range position after Kevin Davies had skipped past Patrice Evra on the right flank.

A frustrating afternoon continued for Rooney just after the hour mark. Antonio Valencia used his pace to get a cross past his marker across the box, with the England man sliding in unmarked at the far post, but he limply diverted it out when it would have been easier to score.

United, who withdrew the excellent Scholes with 20 minutes to go, finally got their second goal in the 75th minute as Rooney, under pressure from defenders, managed to flick it into the path of Welbeck who buried the chance, before Carrick’s goal sweetened the hosts’ victory.