Chicharito Happy To Take Penalties

Javier Hernandez will happily take Manchester United’s penalties should Sir Alex Ferguson ask the Mexican to retain the spot-kick duties.

With regular penalty-taker Wayne Rooney watching in the stands on Tuesday night, it was left to Hernandez to step up and give the Reds the lead from 12 yards against Stoke City.

And although the 24-year-old striker takes penalties for his national team, this was his first spot-kick in a United shirt. Not that you’d have guessed, given the manner in which he calmly sent Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen the wrong way in the 38th minute.

Later, Dimitar Berbatov achieved a similar result from the spot, doubling the scoreline in the second half.

“There are a lot of players here who can take penalties here,” Hernandez told MUTV. “Sometimes it’s Wazza, sometimes it’s Ryan Giggs. Today it was me and Berbatov.

“I take them for Mexico and I’ll be ready if [United] ask me again. If they want me to shoot one, I’ll shoot.”

Hernandez’s strike was his fourth in four games against Stoke City, a fact the forward dismissed as mere “coincidence” after the final whistle.

“I just try to do my best and help my team with goals," he shrugged. "I always say, the most important thing is the points. It doesn’t matter who scores.

“Against Stoke we did a great job against a very difficult team. It was a great night for Manchester United, with City dropping points and us winning against a very difficult team.

“Will it be very significant [in the title race]? Maybe not, but it was a very good night for Manchester United fans.”

Sir Alex agreed and also singled out Hernandez for special praise in his post-match interview.

"I thought Javier did very well," the boss told MUTV. "His form’s come back. Over the last few weeks he’s been very good in training. It’s just a matter of getting the opportunities because Danny Welbeck has been playing so well."