Andy Cole must have beaten the petrol crisis to fill up on rocket fuel as he bagged a hat-trick to leave Anderlecht feeling like they were running on empty.

The whole country may be grinding to a halt but there was no stopping red-hot Cole at Old Trafford.

The striker was in superb form as he overhauled Denis Law's 31-year record to become Manchester United's top scorer in the European Cup.

Cole was not the only United player to produce a high-octane performance as Ryan Giggs tied the Anderlecht defence in knots with his trademark mazy runs.

It leaves Sir Alex Ferguson a happy man and he could hardly have wished for a better start to their Champions League campaign.

Before the Group G match Ferguson had challenged his players to go on from their 1999 Treble success and become legends.

He said in his programme notes: ''You have to keep being successful if you wish to become a legendary team rather than just a very good one and that's what I want from the present-day players of Manchester United.''

His players certainly answered his battle cry as they destroyed Anderlecht, who were United's first opponents in Europe back in 1956.

United won the home leg 10-0 back then, but this time they had to settle for just the five.

Cole opened the scoring from a Giggs cross and Denis Irwin made it two from the penalty spot after Giggs was upended.

David Beckham then set up Teddy Sheringham before Jan Koller pulled a goal back. Cole though grabbed two more to complete his hat-trick before the end