WAYNE ROONEY INSPIRED Manchester United to a 2-0 Premier League win over 10-man Sunderland amid a case of mistaken identity.
Sunderland came away from Old Trafford with a 1-0 victory in the wake of David Moyes’ departure as United manager last season, and early openings on Saturday for visiting forwards Connor Wickham and Jermain Defoe suggested the hosts were in for a similarly uncomfortable afternoon.
Ashley Young had a first-half effort diverted against the crossbar by John O’Shea, before the visiting captain and his fellow former United defender Wes Brown found themselves at the centre of the game’s decisive moment in the 64th minute.
Last man O’Shea hauled back Radamel Falcao to concede a clear penalty, with Brown in close attendance - although referee Roger East showed the latter player a red card to prompt protests and bemusement from the Sunderland contingent.
Rooney – starting up-front as Louis van Gaal made five changes to his starting XI – converted from the spot and added an 84th-minute second to ensure United bounced back from a 2-1 defeat to Swansea City last time out, keeping their bid for Champions League qualification on track.
Rooney headed a corner wide at the near post in the fourth minute as United made an encouraging United start, although Sunderland soon fired two early warnings of their own.
Wickham, one of three players recalled by Gus Poyet following last week’s goalless draw with West Brom, raced towards a back peddling home defence and drew an excellent low save from David de Gea.
Defoe curled a strike narrowly over in the seventh minute. Back came United, and Young drove a shot over the crossbar when Lee Cattermole partially cleared, before Defoe failed to trouble De Gea with a 16th-minute chance.
An unsettled home crowd almost had something to cheer when Young hit Antonio Valencia’s right-wing cross goalwards at the back post, but O’Shea slid in to divert the ball against his own crossbar.
That 25th-minute opportunity prompted an increase in tempo from United, but they were unable to find the breakthrough before half-time.
Van Gaal sent his side out early for the second period and replaced the ineffective Angel Di Maria with Adnan Januzaj. Sunderland found themselves under set-piece pressure after the resumption, with Marcos Rojo lashing a shot over from Falcao’s knockdown.
Januzaj then sent a rasping 20-yard effort wide following a poor headed clearance from Anthony Reveillere, before East made an unlikely hash of a relatively straightforward penalty situation.
Rooney kept his calm to pick out the bottom corner from 12 yards. Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon was a busy man as United poured forward during the closing stages and, when he could only parry another firm Januzaj strike, Rooney was on hand to head home his second and ensure Sunderland’s winless Premier League run extended to four matches.
Hardly world beaters, especially going forward
@COYBIG: two evenly matched teams tomorrow so
I think travelling to Georgia will affect them. It’s a long journey. We have a chance.
@prop joe: good pt. I had not considered that. I think we will beat them.
Havent lost to these since 92. No Bale wine rate since 2012 is 9%.
Believe
Coybig
We will beat this shower tomorrow COYBIG! The welsh think the only have to turn up to beat us!
Whats the team photo about?
@Jane: It’s something Wales have been doing for a couple of years now as a bit of a joke, they deliberately take terrible team photos. Go back through all their qualifiers and you’ll see some with one player kneeling and the rest standing, and the opposite. Leaving gaps like that etc. No idea what it’s about.
@Eanna Costello: I’d never noticed it before, thanks
@Eanna Costello: I think they did one bad photo by mistake and just kept it going then for a laugh
@Jane:
More examples here. It’s gas really.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2017/1008/910725-the-wonders-of-the-wales-team-photo-what-is-going-on/
Seems like you guys think you have this in the bag already.
To put some perspective here – Wales have lost 3 games since 2013 when Bale wasn’t playing. Two of those were friendlies when other players including Ramsey were also not available, and the other one was after we’d already qualified for the Euros.
We haven’t lost a game since the 2016 Euros Semi final, we’ve kept a clean sheet for the last 3 games which we won, and tomorrow night we’re playing at home.
So despite the dismissive remarks above, Wales may pull off a huge upset.
@Saul Hamilton Evans: “not world beaters” “evenly matched” “we have a chance”. How is that us thinking its in the bag or dismissive of Wales? I think nearly all Irish fans thinks Wales are favourites but as said above, we go to Cardiff with a chance.
@Paul P O’Sullivan: is focain bómán é.
He’s a clown