Van Persie might not win the indivi

Van Persie might not win the individual honours but he has certainly had the greatest impact and his first-half hat-trick, taking him to 24 league goals and leapfrogging Luis Suarez as the leading scorer in the division, was the work of an expert in his field. He was at the hub of everything, the arrowhead of attack, bristling with menace, making it feel like a trick of the imagination that it was only a few weeks ago he was snatching at chances and following up every miss with a look of self-revulsion. Van Persie has put together some portfolio in United's colours but he took his performance up another level here and the volley for his second goal, from a ball dropping over his left shoulder, was probably his outstanding work to date.