Rooney's irresistible form continues

Wayne Rooney continued his scoring spree to tally the eight goals in six matches to set United on their way to victory. Rooney had already seen a first-half effort disallowed for a push on Gianni Zuiverloon when he broke the Baggies' resistance with an excellent solo effort 11 minutes after the re-start.


Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov also found the net during a devastating 15-minute period for the Barclays Premier League champions, with Nani completing the scoring in the last minute. But it was a struggle until man-of-the-match Rooney broke the Baggies' resistance by scoring in his fifth successive match, a run that has yielded six goals for club and country and has now moved United into the top four. West Brom had every reason to be fearful and it appeared those worries were proved valid when the England striker tucked home midway through the opening period.


On first viewing, Rooney appeared merely to use his strength to push Gianni Zuiverloon to one side as he skipped onto Ronaldo's through ball. He then stepped inside Ryan Donk before beating Scott Carson from 10 yards. Television replays did not cast that much doubt on Rooney's challenge either but referee Mark Halsey thought otherwise and disallowed the goal for a push. It was the most notable moment of a frustrating half for the hosts, who dominated possession but failed to break a stoic West Brom defence in which Donk and central defensive partner Jonas Olsson were superb.

Man of the match: Wayne Rooney

Posted in: EPL