“Top of the league — and that’s a fact.” The message from Manchester United’s fans was aimed directly at Rafael Benítez and it is doubtful whether the Liverpool manager will find any consolation or humour from the retort from the West Bromwich Albion supporters, which was that he was right to question Sir Alex Ferguson’s influence over referees.

It was nonsense, of course. United went three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League — in the process breaking Chelsea’s top-flight record of 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal — because, ultimately, they played superbly. Admittedly their task was facilitated by Rob Styles’s decision to send off Paul Robinson, the West Bromwich captain, five minutes before half-time, but that was neither the outrage portrayed by the locals nor a notable turning point.

No matter how much a succession of yellow cards in the second half might have rankled with the home supporters, United’s free-flowing football did far more damage to their team’s survival hopes than Styles, the supposed villain of the piece.

The match had to be delayed for half an hour because of traffic congestion on the M5 and, when it finally kicked off, it briefly seemed that United might be caught cold by a West Bromwich team looking for a third consecutive league win at The Hawthorns. But, after Dimitar Berbatov’s opening goal was followed by Robinson’s red card, for an overzealous lunge on Park Ji Sung, it was merely a question of how many United would score.

Carlos Tévez struck the second and Nemanja Vidic the third before two late goals for Cristiano Ronaldo, but the star of the show was Ryan Giggs, whose performance, at the age of 35, suggested that United may be erring on the side of caution by offering just a one-year extension to his contract.

Another of United’s elder statesmen, Edwin van der Sar, 38, will claim a share of this morning’s headlines, having broken the record set by Petr Cech, the Chelsea goalkeeper, four seasons ago by going beyond the 83rd minute of last night’s game without having his goal breached. Another 72 minutes without conceding at home to Everton on Saturday evening would mean Van der Sar breaking the all-time English league record, set by Steve Death and Reading in 1979, but this has been primarily a team effort.

United, after a difficult first half of the campaign, have run into form at the perfect time and, while injuries have threatened to derail them in recent weeks, Ferguson’s squad arrived in the West Midlands in far ruder health than Tony Mowbray, the West Bromwich manager, might have hoped, with Rio Ferdinand and Park unexpectedly ushered back into the starting line-up and Wes Brown appearing for the first time in three months as a late substitute.

Ferdinand’s experience and composure was important in the opening stages, with Gary Neville and John O’Shea making mistakes as West Bromwich started strongly. Borja Valero had a shot cleared off the line by Michael Carrick in the fourth minute, while Marc-Antoine Fortuné and Jay Simpson were proving a handful for Ferdinand and Vidic. It could not last, however, and Carrick and Giggs soon established their rhythm in midfield. Carrick, with another of those measured passes, set up the first goal, taking a pass from Berbatov and rolling it back into his team-mate’s path, the forward shooting low past Carson.

Tévez missed the chance to extend United’s lead a minute later but his moment would arrive. First came Robinson’s red card — the ninth of his career — after the full back raced 20 yards to hit Park with a challenge that, while looking nothing more than overexuberant from a certain angle, is simply not permitted under the modern-day regulations. While the home players and supporters continued to protest, United forced another free kick farther up the pitch and Tévez had the simple task of scoring the second after Carson dropped the ball from Giggs’s cross.

Ryan Donk came within an inch of ending United’s record attempt in the 58th minute, shooting against the inside of a post, but another Ryan —Giggs — continued to dominate.

The Welshman’s corner allowed Vidic to make it 3-0 with a free header on the hour and four minutes later he set up Ronaldo for a straightforward fourth. The fifth followed in the 74th minute, Ronaldo shooting through Carson’s legs from Berbatov’s pass, but, thankfully for West Bromwich, they twisted the knife no farther.

By that stage, United’s supporters were singing paeans to old favourites such as Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Ruud van Nistelrooy and even Diego Forlán while their West Bromwich counterparts were mockingly chanting the name of Styles.

United’s players, for their part, will simply enjoy the view from the top of the Premier League. And that’s a fact.

West Bromwich Albion (4-4-2): S Carson - C Hoefkens, P Pelé, R Donk, P Robinson - G Zuiverloon (sub: J Morrison, 64min), B Valero, R Koren, C Brunt - M-A Fortune (sub: M Cech, 46), J Simpson (sub: R Bednar, 64). Substitutes not used: D Kiely, G Dorrans, F Teixeira, Kim Do Heon. Booked: Koren, Bednar, Donk, Carson, Morrison. Sent off: Robinson.

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar - G Neville (sub: R Eckersley, 71), R Ferdinand (sub: W Brown, 70), N Vidic, J O'Shea - Park Ji Sung, M Carrick, R Giggs, C Ronaldo - D Berbatov (sub: Z Tosic, 77), C Tévez. Substitutes not used: T Kuszczak, D Fletcher, P Scholes, D Gibson. Booked: Park, Carrick.

Referee: R Styles.