Rooney Shines As Manchester United Return To The Champions League

Manchester United booked their return to the Champions League with an outstanding display in Belgium last night.

Wayne Rooney ended his 878-minute goal drought with a sublime hat-trick against Club Brugge as Manchester United booked their return to the UEFA Champions League with a 4-0 win.

United led 3-1 from the first leg, and it only took 20 minutes for Rooney to get them off the mark. Memphis Depay cut in and slotted a pass to Rooney, allowing him to dink the ball over the stranded Sinan Bolat. Rooney secured his second on 49 minutes from a cool tap in when Anders Herrera unselfishly passed to his captain in the box. Twelve minutes later, Rooney completed his hat-trick by sweeping a shot between the outstretched keepers legs. Anders Herrera capped a fine display with a side-foot finish to make it 4-0 on 63 minutes. Javier Hernandez also missed a penalty and a late chance on the night, but Manchester United finished with a dominant 7-1 aggregate across both legs.

United are now included in the group stage draw on Thursday after a one-season absence.

As reported by BBC Sport, Rooney has been met with scrutiny in the media recently, with his last competitive goal coming in April against Aston Villa, but he was able to open his account for the season in his fifth game across all competitions. After the first goal, the relief was blatantly obvious on the face of a striker who is famous for his goalscoring prowess.

With the transfer window closing in five days, fans have been begging United manager Louis van Gaal to purchase another striker to provide Rooney some support. On this evidence, and backed by a lethal midfield including Herrera, Depay, Juan Mata, and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Manchester United fans might be a little more forgiving.

In a post-match interview with BT Sport, Rooney revealed his feelings on his recent goal drought.

“To be honest, if I didn’t have a strong character that (the criticism) might have affected me. I wasn’t worried, if it was going on for three, four, five games more then maybe so but it’s early days and I knew when the chances came I’d take them.”

Louis van Gaal also praised his captain.

“I think we were very organised. We played the ball a little bit more simple than before. You can create gaps and we scored so that is also good. Every goal shall give confidence to every player, even Wayne. I’m very happy for him. He has the best mentality that you can imagine. Such players with that level will always come back.”

The hat-trick was the highlight of the night and overshadowed an excellent team performance from United. Juan Mata, who assisted Rooney on his third goal, was a menace in midfield and showed a brilliance that is starting to ebb back into his game. Herrera, who made the most of a rare start following a rest period for Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schniederlin, obtained an assist and a goal to stake a claim for a more regular starting place. Schweinsteiger, along with Ashley Young, would make a substitute appearance later on to show that the United midfield, where lethal, is also very competitive. The midfield players have been accused of not helping Rooney, who plays in the lone striker role, but this was all but banished last night with an outstanding showing.

United fans can celebrate their team’s return to the biggest tournament in European football. After a one-year absence from the Champions League, they will be hoping this is the first step in regaining the glory that Sir Alex Ferguson made legendary at the Theatre of Dreams.

[Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images]