Lee Sharpe is a new man and England may have found their saviour.
He ran the Londoners ragged at times and helped build up the pressure which saw the Hammers' goalkeeper bring down Roy Keane just before the interval for Cantona to put the Reds further into the lead with a penalty.
Steve Bruce thought he was going to take the penalty, but the Frenchman had other ideas, possibly still smarting from the way Sharpe had pinched the first goal. Not that anyone would criticise Cantona who again dazzled with visionary football and deft touches.
Bruce finished a happy man anyway with the final goal headed in two minutes from the end from Sharpe's cross to give United a three-point lead.
Fergie's Verdict
"I found our football in the first half quite exhilarating. We relaxed in the second half, but I have no criticism of the players for that because they have done remarkably well to get into their position at the top of the table.
They have done it by playing tremendous football. Eric Cantona was great and it's good to see Lee Sharpe among the goals, but really you could go through the team to say how well they played.
West Ham, in fairness, played well, too. Even when they were two goals down they still all wanted the ball and they seemed to enjoy the game. They never resorted to anything silly and kept passing the ball about well.
It was never a physical game and strangely we ended up with a few knocks to players like Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and Denis Irwin.
Man of Match
Lee Sharpe. Scored his fourth goal in three games as he surges to the best form of his career.
