Wayne Rooney scored his 30th goal of the season to help Manchester United beat AC Milan emphatically 4 – 0 at Old Trafford in their Champions League encounter on Wednesday night.
On a night that saw David Beckham return to where it all started for him, it was the current darling of the Old Trafford faithful who steered United into the quarterfinals by following up his double in the 3-2 first leg victory in Milan with another brace.
A first-half header put Sir Alex Ferguson’s side firmly in control and the the England striker killed the tie in the opening seconds of the second period.
Park Ji-Sung and Darren Fletcher round off a memorable night as United eliminated their opponents for the first time in five attempts since two of European football’s iconic institutions first met, 52 years ago.
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Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes joined an elite club after scoring his 100th Premier League goal against Wolverhampton.
The Manchester United midfielder chalked up the ton in style with an accomplished finish to give the champions a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Although he is not one for personal glory, the former England international was still relieved to have reached the milestone, showing patience and composure to nip past Jody Craddock before drilling his shot into the far corner.
Once a prolific scorer, Scholes found the net for the 98th time in league combat at Sunderland in April last year.
It has taken 11 months to get the extra two, having been on 99 since his effort in the four-goal demolition of West Ham last December.
His latest strike promises to be one of the most important this season for Manchester United as it gave them a narrow victory at Wolves and took them back to the top of the Barclays Premier League.
Scholes said: “It was nice. I had a similar chance against West Ham a couple of weeks ago, but thankfully this time I managed to score.
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The Glazers have responded to reports that the ‘Red Knights’ are trying to oust them by saying they have no intention of selling Manchester United.
With debts mounting and alarm bells ringing following details contained within the prospectus for the recent £500million bond sale, a group of mega-rich United fans are said to be planning to make a push to buy the Old Trafford outfit themselves.
Well-known football deal maker Keith Harris – a lifelong United fan – is at the centre of the group, along with Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs.
Their hope is to try to starve the Glazers of cash and persuade them to accept a deal that would net the Americans around £1billion.
That move would certainly be popular with the growing number of fans who have joined the ‘Green and Gold’ campaign.
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Manchester United took home the Carling Cup last by beating Aston Vila 2-1 in the 50th League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Rooney, who came on as a substitute for United’s other scorer Michael Owen, struck with a superbly executed header after 74 minutes, for his 20th goal in his last 20 matches, as United became the first team since Nottingham Forest (in 1989 and 1990) to win the cup in successive seasons.
Rooney, who started on the bench as he had a sore knee, told reporters: “It’s great to have this cup again, it means a lot to win a Wembley final and I am delighted to score the winner, but it’s another great day for the club and the fans.”
Aston Villa, the first winners of the trophy in 1961, and victors over Manchester United in 1994, took the lead after five minutes when James Milner scored from the penalty spot, but were often second best against a dominant United, who also hit the post twice.
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Chelsea’s lead at the top of the Premier League was cut to one point on Wednesday when they lost 2-1 at Everton with Louis Saha continuing his scoring jinx over them.
Second-placed Manchester United drew 1-1 at Aston Villa while Arsenal stayed in the hunt after beating Liverpool 1-0.
Saha, who scored against Chelsea in the FA Cup final last season and in the 3-3 draw against them in December, cancelled out Florent Malouda’s 17th minute opener for Chelsea with a header in the 33rd.
He then had a penalty saved by Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech on the stroke of halftime before scoring the winner after 75 minutes when he chested the ball down, turned and fired home.
That sent Chelsea to their first defeat in 11 matches and gave Everton manager David Moyes his first victory over the London side on the night he celebrated his 300th Premier League game.
Chelsea remain top with 58 points, but are just one point ahead of Manchester United, who drew at Villa despite playing for more than an hour with 10 men after Nani was sent off for a ragged two-footed challenge on Stilian Petrov.
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Manchester United humbled Arsenal yesterday by beating them 3 – 1 at the Emirates Stadium.
Naniforced Manuel Almunia to concede an own goal before setting up Wayne Rooney for a second. Park Ji-Sungscored early in the second half to end the game as a contest. Thomas Vermaelen volleyed home a consolation for Arsenal in the 80th minute.
Arsenal had started brightly, and Andrey Arshavin had an early opportunity. He broke down the left flank and burst into the left hand side of the penalty area. Cutting inside of Wes Brown, he aimed a shot for the far corner of the goal with his right foot, but it was loose and went wide.
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Wayne Rooney says he is humbled by interest from other clubs, but insists that he will stay at Manchester United.
The England centre-forward has been in scintillating form this season, notching 19 Premier League goals to lead the way for the Red Devils as they adapt to life without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portuguese star Ronaldo left Old Trafford for Real Madrid in an £80million deal last summer and there is now reported interest from Real and Barcelona in Rooney.
But the 24-year-old insists he is enjoying life with top-of-the-table United.
He told www.manutd.com: “There’s always speculation, and when other big teams are talking about you, it’s nice that you’re talked about.
“But as I’ve said many times before, I’m a United player and I’m very happy here.”
On his ambitions for the club, Rooney added: “I hope we can win the title again this year.
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Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez called former Manchester United teammate Gary Neville a “boot-licker” and an “idiot” on Argentinian radio, reigniting the former feud between the two players.
Tevez and Neville exchanged gestures during the clubs’ Carling Cup semi-final clash at Eastlands on Tuesday night after Neville claimed in an interview at the weekend that United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had done the right thing in letting Tevez leave in the summer.
The Argentina forward told ESPN Radio: “In all the press here, Gary Neville came out and stood by Ferguson’s comments, saying that I wasn’t worth £25million.
“I thought he was in the wrong because we were team-mates and I never disrespected him, I always respected him.
“I feel he was a boot-licker when he stood by Ferguson’s comments that I wasn’t worth that money.
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Manchester City took on Manchester United in the League Cup derby and are one step closer to the final as they came from behind to beat the Red Devils 2 – 1.
Ryan Giggs opened the scoring in the first half before Carlos Tevez struck twice, once from the spot, to swing the tie in the Citizens’ favour.
The game took 15 minutes to warm up, but United scored with the first genuine goal scoring opportunity of the game. Playing out from the back, Patrice Evra lofted a pass to Antonio Valencia, who beat his marker, attacked the byline and hit a low cross to the front post. Wayne Rooney hit a side-footed shot from close range, Shay Given saved but the rebound spilled out to his right andGiggs was on hand to tap the ball into the open net: 1-0 to Manchester United.
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Chelsea captain John Terry steered his team 5 points clear on the Premier League table ahead of champions Manchester United by beating them 1 – 0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The eagerly-awaited showdown had been meandering towards a disappointing goalless draw until Terry was left unmarked to glance in a Frank Lampard free kick — with striker Nicolas Anelka claiming he got the final touch.
The victory took Chelsea to 30 points, five clear of Arsenal, who won 4-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and United, who also lost to Liverpool last month.
Tottenham Hotspur are fourth on 22 after they beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday. Liverpool host Birmingham City on Monday.
Earlier on Sunday, Hull City beat visitors Stoke City 2-1 with a stoppage-time goal, Everton won 2-1 at West Ham United while Wigan Athletic drew 1-1 at home to Fulham.
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