The Portuguese winger, who was captain for the night in the absence of several senior players, struck twice in the opening 20 minutes at Old Trafford.

He put United in front on nine minutes when scuffing home a shot to equal George Best's record of 32 goals in a season for a winger.

And on 20 minutes he surpassed the Red Devils legend when he hit a stunning free-kick for his 33rd goal of a remarkable campaign.

In between, Kevin Davies was denied by a smart stop from Tomasz Kuszczak, but the result leaves Bolton deep in the relegation mire.

Bolton manager Gary Megson's tactic of packing defence and midfield was hardly unexpected, but it took less than nine minutes for United to nullify them.