A superb Wayne Rooney hat-trick helped Manchester United on their way to a 4-1 win away to rock bottom club Portsmouth.

Ryan Giggs scored the final goal with a superb free kick after laying on two of the assists for the England striker to show that he is still a game changing presence even at 35.

Even so, the victory, which kept United within five points of leaders Chelsea, did not come at ease as Portsmouth defied their league position by putting Sir Alex Ferguson’s team on the back foot in the early stages.

Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane missed three good chances whilst Jamie O’Hara forced a fine save from Tomasz Kuszczak. However, United showed their counter attacking quality with a fine move between Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney that eventually led to Michael Brown fouling the United striker in the penalty area. Rooney picked himself up and swiftly converted from the spot to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Portsmouth, under new manager Avram Grant, refused to give up and they were handed a route back into the match soon after. Nemanja Vidic was penalised for tugging Frederic Piquionne’s shirt in the box. Kevin Prince-Boateng, who missed a penalty last week, stepped up and converted the equaliser for Pompey.

Both teams went into the break fairly evenly matched. However, United raised their game significantly after the break. A Giggs curling free kick was met by Rooney who slotted past Begovic in the Portsmouth goal. The Welsh midfielder was then brought down in the box by Piquionne allowing Rooney to complete his hat-trick from the spot in the 54th minute.

Portsmouth attempted to battle back but the visitors proved too strong. Giggs completed the rout in the 87th minute with a stunning curled free kick to wrap up a fine 4-1 victory against a team that performed far above their league position.

Elsewhere, a Darren Gibson double helped a near fully changed United side beat Tottenham in the quarter finals of the League Cup.

Gibson was kept quiet by Besiktas in the 1-0 Champions League defeat last week. However, the young Irish midfielder struck two superb first half goals outside of the penalty area to defeat a near full strength Spurs outfit.