Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s scoring as Manchester United eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a dominant 4-0 over Championship side Reading.
The Red Devils were in full control from start to finish, with Rooney opening the scoring with his 249th United goal after just six minutes.
The bright Anthony Martial doubled the advantage on 15 minutes with a simple finish, taking advantage of some terrible defending, and Marcus Rashford capped off a commanding display with two goals in the second-half.
While many will not be surprised by the scoreline, some would have expected Reading – with former Man United defender Jaap Stam in charge – to bring more of a challenge to Old Trafford.
The Royals are in great form in the Championship, and currently sit third thanks to their attractive attacking play. Their defence though is another matter.
They’ve scored 36 goals but have conceded 32, and Jose Mourinho’s men made them pay for some woeful defending.
United simply ripped Reading to shreds in the opening stages, with the visitors rarely seeing an extended spell in possession.
It took just 30 secs for United to have their first chance – Rashford flashing a shot just wide of the post after being allowed to run at Reading’s backtracking back-four.
Rooney – perhaps hungry to make history after a short injury lay-off – was in top gear from the first whistle and he really should have scored just moments later when he was sent clear of the Royals defence after a brilliant lofted ball from Marcos Rojo, but the England captain’s angled effort was well smothered by Ali Al-Habsi.
But he made amends with the opening goal with just six minutes on the clock – Rooney beating the goalkeeper with a fortunate shot which came off his knee, from Juan Mata’s chip into the box.
The lucky strike meant Rooney moved level with the great Sir Bobby as Manchester United’s all-time leading goalscorer with 249 goals – reaching the landmark in 543 games for the club.
The 31-year-old was at the centre of things again as Martial soon put the Red Devils 2-0 up – and it was all too easy for the Frenchman.
Running onto a neat one-two with Rooney, Martial simply strolled away from his markers and made his clinical finish into the bottom corner look simple.
Rashford could made it three in on 26 minutes when he ran onto a clever through ball and darted past the onrushing Al-Habsi, but his no-look finish, from a tight angle, only rippled the side netting.
The pace slowed somewhat as half-time approached but it didn’t stop United registering 18 shots in the opening 45 minutes – their highest total in the first half of a match during Mourinho’s reign.
The one-way traffic continued after the break and Rooney had the chance to net his record-breaking 250th goal but could only fire his close-range follow-up straight at Al-Habsi, with the goal at his mercy.
Reading, to their credit, managed to muster more of a threat after the break but still did little to trouble stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
United, meanwhile, had most of their work done for them in the closing as Rashford benefited from two defensive mishaps to add gloss to the scoreline.
The 19-year-old’s run was untracked as he first ran onto Micheal Carrick’s precise pass to notch United’s third and his first since September.
And moments later Al Habsi was left red faced after he miskicked a clearance and allowed Rashford to dart in and blast home his second from mere inches out.
It rounded off a routine win for Man United, who continued their fine run of form with their eighth straight victory in all competitions.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.
(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
