Smalling: Never Write Rooney Off

Chris Smalling has praised Wayne Rooney’s return to scoring form and described the Manchester United captain as a “top-class striker” following his winner at Liverpool.

Rooney broke the deadlock in the 78th minute on Sunday to secure a welcomed 1-0 victory over the club’s historic rivals and the 30-year-old has now netted five times in his last four games. He has also overtaken Thierry Henry for most goals scored (176) for a single club in Premier League history.

Prior to his recent scoring run, the Reds' no.10 had only scored once in 13 games across all competitions and had therefore been under some scrutiny in the media. Smalling believes his team-mate's omission from the starting line-up at Stoke City on Boxing Day may have invigorated the striker and inspired him to demonstrate his unquestionable quality.

"Since that game [Stoke], he has come back in and shown he is a top-class performer," said Smalling, after Rooney's winner against Liverpool.

"I think [being left out] can refresh you and spur you on a bit more, to prove to everyone just how good you are. Strikers go through periods when they don’t score but the best ones are those that come back and get on another run.

"Wazza has shown that [ability to bounce back] throughout his career and it’s good to see he is among the goals again."

Smalling also paid tribute to David De Gea following his impressive performance against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and is thankful the Spaniard signed a long-term contract at United in the summer.

“When we knew he was lining up for us for the whole season, it was a great feeling because he is one of the best," said Chris. “He pulled off great saves and his distribution, especially with those balls to Wazza and Jesse further forward, was terrific. That set us up on the attack.

“He is a good shot-stopper and a good organiser too. He is a very calm guy but on the pitch, he is very much talking to us as a unit and we know his game inside out. It's good to know that if we are beaten as a defence, we still have a great chance to keep the ball out.”

The win at Anfield has lifted United up to fifth in the table and seven points away from leaders Arsenal after 20 games played. Like his manager, Smalling still believes winning the title is a possibility and has implored the Reds to continue the successful streak against Southampton on Saturday.

“It was an important win for us,” he said. “At times it wasn’t pretty and in the second half we played a bit more direct but we camped in their half. It was good to ground out that win after the midweek failings [in the 3-3 draw at Newcastle].

"Fingers crossed we are gaining momentum. That’s the plan. We want to kick on now - not make one step forward and two back - so fingers crossed we can show it again on Saturday.”