Rooney FINALLY breaks his duck to lead Man Utd back to the top
The last time Manchester United ended a Premier
League weekend at the top of the table, Sir Alex
Ferguson was bowing to the support at The
Hawthorns before making his way to the tunnel for
the 1,500th and last time.
There have been some minor ups and major
downs for United in the 28 months since the
legendary manager retired from the position with
which he remains synonymous, but on Saturday
they returned to the summit with a convincing 3-0
victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Wayne Rooney's was the other notable name
being uttered with regularity back in May 2013 as
his desire for a move became public, but these
days he is the captain and iconic figure of the 20-
time champions.
What is more, he is back in the goals after a
near-six month drought in the league came to an
end shortly after half-time against Dick
Advocaat's strugglers. United had edged ahead
just before the break when Memphis Depay's
side-foot finish ended a move started by fellow
Dutchman Daley Blind's wonderful cross-field
pass for Juan Mata.
And while Memphis was clearly delighted to get
off the mark, no relief was as great as Rooney's
when he bundled home the second. It is so often
said that strikers struggling for goals would accept
one going in off their backside if it meant breaking
their duck, and Rooney’s was not far short.
Anthony Martial shifted the ball to the bye-line,
crossed from the right and the ball came back off
the England striker's knee before striking
Sunderland keeper Costel Pantilimon and
eventually arriving in the back of the net. That was
Rooney's first Premier League goal since April 4,
12 games and almost six months ago. The longer
the streak went on, the more the 29-year-old
looked to be weighed down by the spotlight.
But returning to the scoresheet was a godsend.
The goal was exactly what he needed after an
anonymous first-half performance. Like United for
long stretches of games this season, the striker
has been largely underwhelming. While his
performance after the goal did not improve an
awful lot, it was clear that he had rid himself of a
personal demon.
"That's what we're all playing for," Rooney said
afterwards of United's return to the top. "We have
to work hard to make sure we stay there." He now
has five goals in his last five games, and is
captain of the league leaders. Not bad for an out-
of-form front man. There is one man in the
attacking line who is very much in-form though.
While Rooney has struggled to record a sequence
of convincing performances, Mata has quietly
gone about the business of transitioning superbly
into Louis van Gaal’s way of playing. Although the
Spaniard would surely rather be given a more
central role than the one he is asked to fulfil on the
right of the three men behind Martial, he has
nonetheless taken to the task wonderfully.
His late third goal was just reward for a
performance of great discipline but also great
artistry. While his name appears on the team-
sheet as a right-sided player, he drifts just
enough to become more involved at the right
times without leaving his station unmanned for too
long. Van Gaal gets the best of both worlds that
way, with Mata becoming a second No.10.
And he keeps scoring too. With 19 goals in under
two years as a Manchester United player, the 27-
year-old is becoming as prolific a midfielder as
there is in the European game. United might not
be firing on all cylinders, but with his influence
they always stand a chance.
Van Gaal insisted afterwards that he is not too
bothered who scores his side's goals, but
admitted he was pleased for Rooney all the same.
"It doesn't make any difference who scores for
me and for the team. You have to score one goal
more than the opponent. But as a coach I'm happy
that Rooney and Depay have now scored.
Personally for them it is important."
Now that Rooney has put the drought behind him,
the new most important thing is keeping United at
the top of the Premier League. It has been too
long a wait for them to immediately squander their
position of strength.
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