Rooney leads Manchester United to 4-0 win over West Brom
Manchester United produced a sensational second half display to beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0 at Old Trafford.
Wayne Rooney made it three goals in four days for club and country when he got the first goal with a clinical finish early in the second half. He then turned provider when his pass set up Cristiano Ronaldo to put United two up. Dimitar Berbatov also got his first Premier League goal for United when he poked United into a 3-0 lead two minutes later. Nani then added a fourth in stoppage time to complete the win.
With Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all winning earlier in the afternoon the pressure was on United to stay in touch at the top of the table.
United had the bulk of the early possession in front of the home fans without really threatening the West Brom defence. The best of the early chances fell to Ronaldo but he could not apply the finish to a flowing United attack after four minutes. His tame shot was easily saved by West Brom keeper Scott Carson
Wayne Rooney was looking lively and managed to find the back of the net after 23 minutes, only to have his goal ruled out by referee Mark Halsey for a foul on a West Brom defender. Five minutes later Rooney met a Ryan Giggs corner with a powerful header which was saved by Carson.
United continued to put pressure on the stubborn West Brom defence. They had a hand-ball appeal waved away by Halsey five minutes before the break after the ball appeared to strike the arm of Baggies defender Paul Robinson. Despite the huge amount of possession United were unable to make the breakthrough and West Brom’s resilience was rewarded with a 0-0 half time scoreline.
United’s dominance continued into the second half. Rooney was at the centre of the action once again. His thunderous drive from the edge of the area was brilliantly saved by Carson after 50 minutes. Four minutes later it was Berbatov’s turn to be denied by Carson.
The United fans could sense a goal and they didn’t have to wait long as Rooney finally made the breakthrough three minutes later. He ran through with composure to put United ahead with a neat finish into the bottom corner of Carson’s goal.
Rooney then turned supplier as his pass found Ronaldo unmarked. Ronaldo made it look easy as he guided the ball past Carson and into the centre of the goal. Two minutes later Barbatov scored his first Premier League goal for United when he poked in from six yards after the West Brom defence failed to deal with a cross. With the result no longer in doubt substitute Nani added a fourth in stoppage time after a quick United counter attack to round off a fantastic second half display from United. They now move up to fourth in the table.
Based on this performance can United challenge Chelsea and Liverpool for the title? What do you think? Please use the comments box to send us your thoughts.
Chris also writes on the Footie Blog.
Topics: English Premier League, Manchester United, Match Reports, Wayne Rooney, West Brom
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Concerning Berbatov’s goal: they don’t any more giftwrapped than that – except for the one he scored against AaB in the Champions League, of course.
Still, despite his meager goal tally, Berbatov has been playing well, especially in the last two Premiership matches. He’s been distributing well and seems to be connecting with Ronaldo and Rooney. Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come.
October 19th, 2008 @ 15:58Indeed. At least it’ll do his confidence a world of good. Imagine when he is on form!
October 19th, 2008 @ 16:03“Based on this performance can United challenge Chelsea and Liverpool for the title?”
!! Utd will challenge Chelsea for the title as was predicted by all and sundry at the start of the season. Come March Liverpool will be nowhere to be seen.
The question’s a bit lightweight to be honest.
October 20th, 2008 @ 01:56good game good result.
October 20th, 2008 @ 04:03but berbatov should be in the bench,he needs to wake up his idea.. sometimes it felt man u was playing with 10men.. he sucked..
Man Utd will be challenging for the title thats for sure but as for winning it thats an entire new matter altogether. Chelsea are playing with a tattered team and still managed to trash Boro at Riverside. One can only imagine how will it be like once the injured gang is back. As for Liverpool they are winning games they would have lost last season even with the opponents playing with 10 men. And lets not forget about Arsenal. Anyone can see they are getting back into the rythem just as United is. So this season is proving to be a very interesting one.
October 20th, 2008 @ 05:05I actually thought Berbatov played well. Sure, he looks like he’s loafing out there sometimes, especially compared to the non-stop nature of Rooney and Tevez. But that’s his style. He can’t play the way that Rooney and Tevez do. He’s not that kind of player. He’s a scorer, a lot like Van Nistelrooy was and Ronaldo is. Ronaldo can’t play like Rooney, either (ever watch him trying to defend?).
The important thing is that he seems to be developing good chemistry with Rooney and Ronaldo. He set up Rooney’s first goal with a brilliant through-ball and he helped set up Ronaldo’s goal as well. In the AaB game, he was in the right place when Ronaldo sent in that cross from deep down the flank (don’t remember whether it was from the right or left). Hopefully, he’ll continue setting up and scoring big goals. I’ll take his effort against West Brom any day.
The question is whether he can come up big against good teams. If he can, then watch out!
October 20th, 2008 @ 16:44We have to be honest. Aside from Robbie Keane, Berbatov was the only attacking target for Spurs. Now he’s playing in a team which has match winners all over the park. It’s going to take time to find his place in such a formidable attack. It took Ronaldo some time to adjust to the United game, but look how he turned out. The omens are good but only time will tell.
October 21st, 2008 @ 11:30