Rooney Leads Reds To Victory

Wayne Rooney scored twice to set United on the way to a morale-boosting 4-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Saturday, and in so doing he became the Premier League's fourth-highest scorer with 171 goals.

The Reds had fallen behind after just 13 minutes when Ashley Westwood scored from a free-kick, but Rooney hit back with an expertly-executed glancing header from Shinji Kagawa's cross on 20 minutes and then put United ahead from the penalty spot just before half-time.

Juan Mata scored his first goal for the club in the second half before substitute Javier Hernandez added a fourth just before the final whistle, but it was Rooney who spearheaded the team's response.

The United no.10 admits he doesn't pay too much attention to such records. "I wasn't aware of that but obviously it's great. Today was an important game after midweek and we had to respond and show what kind of team we are. It was difficult as we made a slow start, we went behind and it was difficult. We came through it, played some good stuff and got the win we deserved."

Mata added on BT Sport: "Wayne is a very important player for us. If he scores two goals every game then we will move up the league! I'm very happy for him, he's a top scorer, top player and a top guy.

"As Wazza said the start wasn't very good, but I think we came back well. My first goal arrived in the second half, I knew it had to come one day and it was today."

The result tees United up nicely for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich at Old Trafford. "It's a massive game, it's the quarter-finals of the Champions League. We're excited, we're looking forward to it. Hopefully we'll get a good result."