Ferguson Hails 'Devastating' Wayne Rooney

Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Wayne Rooney as "devastating" after the striker's brace saw Manchester United to a vital 3-2 Champions League win over AC Milan.

Two clinical headers from Rooney took his season's tally to 25 goals and ensured United have the advantage for the second leg of the last-16 game.

"He's in devastating form, they could not handle him in the second half. He was marvellous," said the United boss.

"What we said he has to do is improve his goalscoring and now he's doing it."

When asked if the Englishman should now be regarded alongside the likes of Barcelona playmaker Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo - two of the best players in the world - Ferguson replied: "His basic ability is as good as the players you talk about.

"He has to be regarded at the highest level, along with all the other players we know about."

Ferguson backed Rooney to reach the 30-goal mark for the first time this season and feels his recent goalscoring form has taken him to a new level.

"He could break 30," added Ferguson. "This season in particular, over the last two months, there has been a marked improvement in his game.

"Confidence has a lot to do with it of course. I just felt he had to improve his goalscoring, which is what he is doing now."

Those sentiments were echoed by Milan's England midfielder David Beckham, who produced a largely muted display in his first match against United before being substituted in the 72nd minute.

"Rooney is obviously on fire again," he said. "I have always said he was one of the best goalscorers in the world and he is proving it week in and week out.

"If you give him chances he'll score goals, that's the way he is and the way his mind works."

Rooney's brace proved pivotal in earning United a victory that barely looked possible as they were outplayed for much of the first hour.

However, Milan failed to build on Ronaldinho's third-minute opener and only Clarence Seedorf's flicked goal five minutes from time ensured the tie remains up for grabs going into the second leg on 10 March.

And Ferguson conceded his United side were not at their best, saying: "I think we could have lost a few goals tonight.

"The first 20 minutes was a bad period for us. For 20 minutes we lost composure. Once we got going, we played well.

"We could have been two or three down, to be honest because the bad start gave Milan encouragement. But we were desperate to hang on and thankfully we got ourselves back into it."
And Milan counterpart Leonardo admitted his side felt hard done by, leaving them an uphill - though not impossible, he said - task to make it through to the quarter-finals.

"I think we didn't score the goals we deserved," said the Brazilian coach. "Manchester United managed to take 100% of their chances.

"It's a question of centimetres unfortunately. You can't play 90 minutes at the same rhythm we started the game with. I can't criticise my side."

"I don't think to win 2-0 at Old Trafford is a totally impossible thing."

Beckham added: "Clarence's second goal has made it (a comeback) possible. It's not easy to go to Old Trafford but we have made it a bit better for ourselves."

Meanwhile, Beckham says Rio Ferdinand has what it takes to be England skipper after the Manchester United defender replaced John Terry as captain.

"Rio is a great captain," said Beckham. "He has proved he has been a great captain when he has captained Manchester United in the past. He is a leader."