Andy Cole made himself Manchester United's record scorer in Europe with the hat-trick that gave them the perfect start to their latest Champions League campaign.
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(CliveMason/Allsport) |
Cole jointly held the record of 14 with Denis Law, but he shattered that mark against Anderlecht in the 5-1 win that immediately put the Premiership titleholders top of Group G.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson paid tribute to Cole, who now has six goals this season, saying: 'Cole is flying at the moment - you can see he's enjoying himself. Maybe the fact that he's got his place back with England has helped him.
'It is a great feat to beat Denis Law's record and to score a hat-trick in European football is always highly impressive.'
Cole said: 'It's very pleasing to have overhauled the record held by a great man like Denis. It's really something special. I'm lucky because I'm playing with great players.'
Anderlecht coach Aime Anthuenis admitted that his Belgian champions had been beaten by a side who played on a much higher plane.
He said: 'United played a different dimension of football to us, individually and collectively.'
More than 62,000 fans got to the match, dispelling fears that the attendance would be hit by the petrol crisis.
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