Manchester United eye title as Everton brushed aside

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) - Ryan Giggs and Robin van Persie scored the goals as Manchester United opened up a commanding 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win over Everton on Sunday.

With Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho watching from the directors' box at Old Trafford ahead of his team's Champions League tie against Alex Ferguson's side at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, United took full advantage of second placed Manchester City's surprise defeat at Southampton on Saturday.

Giggs opened the scoring early on with his first league goal of the season, maintaining his astonishing record of having scored a league goal in each of his 23 seasons as a United player, a sequence which now covers every year in Premier League history.

Van Persie got the second just before the break and, with City stumbling of late, the destiny of the title is firmly in United's hands once again.