Dimitar Berbatov admitted even he was surprised with his amazing five-goal haul as Manchester United humiliated Blackburn Rovers 7-1 at Old Trafford.

“I don’t think anybody could have guessed the scoreline,” Berbatov said.

“It was a great team performance. In the end I’m pleased with the performance and the goals I scored, personally I was very impressed with myself.

“I’ve scored five before but it was a long time ago back home. To do it in the Premier League when only four other players have done it, to stand next to Shearer and Andy Cole is a great honour.”

Berbatov had not scored for United since scoring a hat-trick against Liverpool on September 19 but his five goals sent him to the top of the Premier League scoring charts.

He admitted that his barren run had started to cause him sleepless nights, so he was delighted to help United put pressure on title rivals Chelsea.

“I was a little bit worried,” Berbatov added. “When you are a striker people tend to only look at the goals you score.

“For me, it is more about how I play, the assists I give, how I link with other players but today I scored so I am very pleased. We are now in a great position. We are wanting to stay top of the table.

“I know there is a long way to go but with the squad we have, the players we have, if we play like this, I think we will stay top.”