Headmaster! Towering Rooney is Manchester United's hero in San Siro

17 February 2010 10:31
Wayne Rooney proved himself head and shoulders above the rest of Europe with two superb headers that sank David Beckham's AC Milan in the San Siro on Tuesday night.[LNB]Rooney's two-goal burst in eight second-half minutes saw Manchester United recover from a disastrous start to win the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.[LNB] High and mighty: Wayne Rooney beats Daniele Bonera to score his first of the night[LNB]United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: 'Wayne is in devastating form and Milan could not handle him in the second half. He was marvellous. I said at half-time we had to get him in the game more as I knew he had the beating of them. His basic ability is as good as the best players in the world.'[LNB]Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho gave Milan the perfect start with a goal after three minutes and Ferguson was furious as the Italian team outplayed his Barclays Premier League champions for the first half an hour.[LNB]At one stage the United manager screamed at defender Jonny Evans to wake up, while Rooney appeared to suggest afterwards that some of his team-mates had not been up to the task.[LNB]No fairytale: David Beckham shows his frustration after a disappointing night against his former club[LNB]Rooney said: 'Some people were not doing their jobs right. But in the second half we stepped it up and fully deserved to win.[LNB]'We were the better side and 3-2 is a great result.'[LNB]A lucky goal from Paul Scholes - the ball went in off the shin of his standing left leg after he missed it with his right - sent United in level at half time and Rooney then took the game away from Milan before Dutchman Clarence Seedorf gave the home team some hope with a late goal.[LNB]Former United star Beckham played for 71 minutes and said: 'Against Manchester United you have to take your chances. If we had scored a couple more goals when we were on top it might have been different.[LNB]'We played quite well but when you play United and guys like Wayne Rooney, it is difficult. They are a very good team but thanks to our second goal we're still in with a chance.'[LNB]United will be without midfielder Michael Carrick for the second leg at Old Trafford in three weeks after he was sent off for a second bookable offence, thought to have beentime-wasting, late in the game.[LNB]Ferguson added: 'We could have been two or three down early on and we were fortunate to be level at half time.[LNB]'It was a bit of a carnival at the end and their second goal has made it a game again when really there should no longer be a game.'[LNB]In the other tie, Jean Makoun's goal gave Lyon a 1-0 first-leg advantage over Real Madrid.[LNB] Ronaldinho finally returns to his big screen starring role after some awful B moviesSan Siro Match Zone: Wayne Rooney's evil glare and the Green and Gold ArmyAC Milan 2 Manchester United 3: Wayne Rooney looks a world-beater as striker puts United in command after lucky Paul Scholes strike wrong-foots MilanMANCHESTER UNITED FC

Source: Daily_Mail