Just like at the KC Stadium last month, Wayne Rooney was the difference between Manchester United and Hull City as he scored four times to take United back to the top of the Barclays Premier League with a 4-0 win at Old Trafford.

The Tigers were unchanged from last Saturday's draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

United lined up with Rooney and Michael Owen in attack while Rio Ferdinand returned from injury in defence.

The home side had an early chance when Kamil Zayatte's mistake let Rooney in.

He pulled the ball back for Owen, but his shot was deflected wide.

And it was United who took the lead on eight minutes.

City failed to clear a corner effectively enough and the ball dropped to Paul Scholes 25 yards out.

His swerving shot was parried by Boaz Myhill, but only as far as Rooney who had the simple task of finishing from close range.

United continued to dominate with Nani, Ji-Sung Park and Ferdinand firing just off target.

However, City almost drew level out of nothing when Nick Barmby capitalised on a defensive lapse, but his shot was saved by Edwin Van der Sar.

The home side were soon back on top.

Rooney's was deflected just over and only a well-timed tackle from Andy Dawson prevented Owen from having a one-on-one with Myhill.

Myhill did well to push away Owen's deflected volley as United pushed for a second goal.

It almost came from a Rooney free kick, but the England striker was just off target.

Rooney was booked four minutes before half time when frustration got the better of him after losing the ball and he brought down Stephen Hunt.

A great move with Owen at the heart of it could have brought a goal, but the striker's shot was deflected into Myhill's path by Paul McShane.

Half Time: Tigers 0-1 United

Craig Fagan got one of the biggest cheers of the afternoon when he ran into one of the assistant referees and sent him tumbling to the ground.

For a couple of moments, it looked as though the assistant might have suffered a serious injury, but he was soon back up on his feet.

City's first change came 12 minutes into the second half as Bernard Mendy replaced Barmby.

That saw a switch to a 4-4-2 formation with Richard Garcia moving up front alongside Fagan.

The Tigers were starting to enjoy a decent little spell with Mendy's pace causing problems.

City's second change saw Kamel Ghilas replace Garcia before the final substitution saw Kevin Kilbane come on for Geovanni.

City were almost level 15 minutes from time when Ghilas controlled the ball well in the box, turned and fired a shot across the face of goal and just wide.

Fagan was booked for dissent after disagreeing with the referee's decision to award United a free kick.

City failed to take advantage of their good spell, though, and conceded a second goal seven minutes from time.

It all started when Myhill fumbled Nani's free kick against his own bar.

As the ball rebounded, Dawson did well to clear it but took a knock to the head in the process.

The left back went down, but referee Steve Bennett didn't stop play and when United worked the ball to Rooney, he fired home.

Rooney completed his hat-trick three minutes later as he headed home Nani's cross.

It was harsh on City.

But Rooney was happy to rub it in as he scored his fourth in added time, beating Myhill from the edge of the box.

Tigers (4-5-1) Boaz Myhill; Paul McShane, Kamil Zayatte, Anthony Gardner [captain], Andy Dawson; Richard Garcia (Ghilas 71), Geovanni (Kilbane 75), George Boateng, Nick Barmby (Mendy 57), Stephen Hunt; Craig Fagan.

Subs: Matt Duke, Bernard Mendy, Kevin Kilbane, Steven Mouyokolo, Kamel Ghilas, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Tom Cairney.

Bookings: Fagan 79.

Manchester United (4-4-2) Edwin Van der Sar; Rafael, Rio Ferdinand [captain], Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra (Fabio 88); Nani, Paul Scholes (Gibson 73), Darren Fletcher, Ji-Sung Park; Michael Owen (Berbatov 73), Wayne Rooney.

Subs: Tomasz Kuszczak, Wes Brown, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick, Fabio, Antonio Valencia, Darron Gibson.

Bookings: Rooney 42.

Wayne Rooney became the first player to score four goals in a game against the Tigers since Chris Iwelumo for Colchester United in a 1-5 defeat in the Championship on 28 November 2006, shortly before Phil Brown took over as manager.