Barclays Premier League
Gareth Davis reports from Old Trafford

Steve Howard broke the Rams' away goal duck for the season with his first-ever Premier League strike but Derby were undone by Carlos Tevez as the defending champions kept up the pressure at the top of the table with a 4-1 success.

Derby had been well in the game for the first 40 minutes but Ryan Giggs opened the scoring, then Tevez notched his first as half-time approached.

They had opportunities to have even gone in front before the two quick strikes, and Tevez's second on the hour made it comfortable for United.

But Derby never gave up and made sure their vociferous fans had something to cheer as Howard slid in to scramble the ball home from a Tyrone Mears cross.

Tevez had his sights set on a treble but Cristiano Ronaldo wrapped things up in stoppage-time with a penalty.

Dean Leacock and Craig Fagan were back in the Derby County line-up at the expense of Gary Teale and Steve Howard as the Rams headed north to Old Trafford.

United, looking to keep up the pressure at the top of the Premier League, were at full-strength with Wayne Rooney partnered in attack by Carlos Tevez, while Cristiano Ronaldo and skipper Ryan Giggs were patrolling the wings.

But the home side did suffer a late blow shortly before kick-off as England midfielder Owen Hargreaves was forced to pull out, his place taken by Michal Carrick, with Nani coming on to the bench.

And there was a slightly different shape to Derby's midfield. Leacock was sitting in front of the back four with Matt Oakley ahead of him, Fagan and Stephen Pearson wide, while Giles Barnes played off Kenny Miller.

Areas of the Old Trafford turf were struggling somewhat with the day's heavy rainfall but both sets of players were looking to keep the ball on he floor wherever possible.

Both forced early corners but neither could put the opposition's goal under too much pressure.

Rio Ferdinand headed over from United's flag-kick, while on ten minutes they broke down the left through Patrice Evra but Wayne Rooney didn't do enough to threaten from the Frenchman's cross.

The first shot on target went to the visitors as Barnes set his sights from just outside the box, only to see a deflection take the sting out of his effort and Edwin van der Sar gathered comfortably.

Seconds later Jay McEveley strode forward and forced the experienced Dutchman to dive low to his left and grab a fizzing 25-yarder that always looked a danger on the greasy surface.

Ronaldo came close after a long run at the other end, and Giggs came even closer with a curling free-kick that dipped just over the bar from 20 yards.

And this was all before the quarter-hour mark.

The game then went quiet for a spell before Derby had a miracle escape on 24 minutes.

Ronaldo released Giggs down the left and he crossed low where Rooney was waiting to pounce inside the six-yard box, but somehow United's number ten managed to find Stephen Bywater's feet rather than the back of the net - as had looked almost certain.

There was a yellow onn 32, the game's first dished out by referee Chris Foy, who cautioned Claude Davis for a foul on Rooney. The Jamaican could have no complaints.

Stephen Pearson puts Carlos Tevez under pressure. Picture by EMPICS Sport

Pearson might have done better four minutes later than to volley well over from Fagan's header down, and it almost proved costly as Anderson broke for the home side.

The Brazilian slipped Giggs through into the box and went for the return pass but Darren Moore was in strongly to block, though the ball then rolled out to Tevez who drilled a low effort straight at Bywater from 14 yards.

Derby were under a spell of heavy pressure and eventually cracked five minutes before the interval.

They had chances to clear their lines but failed to do so, allowing Ronaldo to cut in from the left and crack in a shot that Bywater did well to parry.

The ball came loose, however, and Giggs was there to poke it home from close range and bring up a century of league goals in a Manchester United shirt.

Giggs almost proved the architect for a second two minutes later. His wonderful long pass sent Rooney away and the England man dinked the ball over Bywater but watched on as his shot rebounded off a post and was cleared to safety.

But the lead was doubled with 40 seconds to go before half-time.

Ronaldo shaped to shoot from a 30-yard free-kick but deceived everyone by chipping the ball into the middle where Tevez managed to miss his kick at first.

However the ball pretty much stayed dead on a sodden surface, leaving the Argentinian a relatively simple task to fire it past Bywater from eight yards.

The Rams' bid to respond began in the dressing room at half-time as they introduced Tyrone Mears and Steve Howard for Jay McEveley and Craig Fagan.

Howard was soon into the action as he rose above Wes Brown to meet a far-post cross but the big number nine couldn't get enough power on his header to trouble van der Sar.

At the other end Andy Griffin found himself cautioned seven minutes in, presumably for dissent after voicing his frustration at Ronaldo going down to win a free-kick just outside the box.

United looked less than secure on 55 when Barnes turned and drove in a low shot from distance that, while not the most powerful, almost caught van der Sar unaware and the United custodian was late going down to fumble it around the post.

From Barnes's corner the ball dropped to Davis, who went for the spectacular overhead kick and wasn't too far away from the target.

United hit the woodwork for a second time two minutes later through Giggs's low volley from a Brown cross, and Derby broke quickly but Miller could only shoot well over from the edge of the box as a good opportunity looked ready to present itself.

But on the hour the home side went three goals in front.

Brown chipped a low ball in from the right to Tevez, who wasn't closed down well enough and had the time to tee himself up for a low shot into Bywater's bottom-right corner.

Carlos Tevez celebrates his second of the afternoon. Picture by EMPICS Sport

That was also the cue for Derby's third change as Gary Teale replaced Barnes, while Darren Fletcher's introduction for Anderson soon followed for United.

The rain began to pour down at Old Trafford but that didn't deter the Derby fans in the corner, who continued to sing loud and proud as they had done all afternoon.

Bywater denied Louis Saha with a goal from his first touch as United began to spray the ball around with the style befitting their status as one of the favourites for the top honours - both domestically and in Europe.

But it had taken them a while to get the match to this position with Derby showing they will be a tough nut to crack under Paul Jewell, despite the Reds' three-goal advantage.

Disaster almost arrived on 71 however as Teale picked up the ball and turned on the edge of his own box to fire a back-pass in the direction of Bywater, but over-hit the ball - thankfully from a Derby perspective it rolled just past the post to give United a corner.

However there was a moment to savour for the Derby following with quarter of an hour to go.

Mears was released down the right and slipped a low balll in across goal that Howard slid in to force home for his first Premier League goal of the season - and the Rams' first on the road in 2007/08.

It certainly gave the away following in a crowd of 75,725 - more even than the play-off final at Wembley - another great lift.

Moore was perhaps lucky to escape a caution for a foul on Fletcher, though referee Foy used common sense with the Old Trafford pitch getting even more bogged down under constant rain.

Particularly evident as time ticked down was the number of visible red seats following an exodus of home fans hoping to make a head start on their journeys away from the stadium.

Derby's fans, on the other side of the coin, remained in their seats and remained in good voice right the way to the end.

There was time for a fourth as Ronaldo went down in the penalty area as Davis and Mears put him under pressure, then stepped up to score from the spot himself and deny Tevez a treble.

MANCHESTER UNITED: van der Sar, Evra, Ferdinand (O'Shea 72), Brown, Ronaldo, Anderson (Fletcher 62), Rooney, Giggs (C) (Saha 65), Vidic, Carrick, Tevez.

SUBS: Nani, Kuszczak (GK).

DERBY: Bywater, McEveley (Mears HT), Leacock, Oakley (C), Fagan (Howard HT), Miller, Griffin, Davis, Moore, Pearson, Barnes (Teale 60).

SUBS: Price (GK), Earnshaw.

ATTENDANCE: 75,725.