"Old Trafford, will you welcome the FA Cup winners, the Premiership titleholders and the European Champions." They needed no introduction, but this was the one Manchester United were given on their return to the theatre of dreams and while Alex Ferguson may have argued successfully against a triumphalist parade of last season's three trophies before kick-off, his players offered their fans enough evidence that what has been may yet be again this season.
Admittedly it was submitted against a timid Sheffield Wednesday side. Two down at half-time, courtesy of fine finishing by Paul Scholes and Dwight Yorke, Wednesday had abandoned the match as a contest even before Andy Cole scored shortly after half-time. Ole Solksjaer, who had replaced Ryan Giggs, added the fourth six minutes from time after his fellow substitute Teddy Sheringham had hit the bar.
On Saturday, United entertain another Yorkshire club, Leeds United, and will be expecting a sterner test of their resolve. Roy Keane's contractual status will be known by then and if there was a sour note on an otherwise tuneful night for the champions, it was heard by the United chairman, Martin Edwards, when the Red chorus declared: "We all agree Keano is worth more than Edwards." It was succeeded by a chant of "Keano will stay." We shall see.
Wednesday may have thought that, given their diminishing reputation, United might have decided to take it easy last night and rotate some key individuals. If so, Wilson must have been seriously disappointed when he saw the United teamsheet featuring the name of Giggs in a line-up that was virtually first choice.
Giggs missed Sunday's drawn match with Everton due to a tweaked hamstring, but returned in place of Solskjaer and for good measure collected a goal of the season award for his epic in the FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal in April.
If that was one reminder of the Welshman's enduring quality, it took precisely eight minutes and 53 seconds for Giggs to supply another. Receiving a return pass from Yorke after taking a short throw-in himself, Giggs swung in a dangerous cross from the lefthand by-line. The ball bounced once before Scholes met it on the full with his left foot from 15 yards, his effort curling away from the outstretched arms of Pavel Srnicek into the top corner.
It was the highlight of an eventful opening 20 minutes for Scholes. He was booked in the first minute by the officious Mike Reed for an innocuous foul on Niclas Alexandersson and then in the 20th minute an untypically sloppy pass set the Swede free in the United area. He nutmegged Jaap Stam with great skill but his shot, from an inviting position, sailed over Mark Bosnich's crossbar.
And that was as good as it got for Wednesday. With Benito Carbone once again left on the bench, Gerald Sibon and Gilles de Bilde were offering a one-dimensional forward line.
United, though, had clicked into gear with impressive ease. In the 26th minute Srnicek had to save bravely at the feet of his old Newcastle United colleague Andy Cole following slick play by David Beckham and Keane and five minutes later, from another Beckham centre, Yorke hit the woodwork and Henning Berg missed a sitter from the rebound.
A second goal seemed an inevitability even this early, and the feeling was confirmed when Giggs accepted a Denis Irwin pass, again on the left, and sent in a pinpoint cross on to the forehead of Yorke. It was an indication of Wednesday's defensive confusion that Yorke jumped unmarked to power in his unstoppable header.
Nine minutes after half-time the third goal arrived from a Beckham corner. Sheringham, who had replaced Yorke at the interval, met the cross on the edge of the Wednesday area, but his shot appeared to have been given the slightest of diverting touches by Cole on the way in. Both men were congratulated. In fact it was pats on the back all round.
Man Utd: Bosnich, Neville, Irwin, Berg, Stam, Beckham (Butt 56), Scholes, Keane, Cole, Yorke (Sheringham 46), Giggs (Solskjaer 56). Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Curtis. Booked: Scholes, Stam. Goals: Scholes 9, Yorke 35, Cole 54, Solskjaer 84.
Sheff Wed: Srnicek, Atherton, Hinchcliffe, Thome, Walker, Sonner (Briscoe 63), Sibon (Carbone 59), Rudi, Alexandersson, Newsome, De Bilde (Cresswell 76). Subs Not Used: Pressman, Haslam. Booked: Sonner.
Att: 54,941.
Referee: M Reed (Birmingham).
