West Ham No Contest For Ronaldo

CRISTIANO Ronaldo paraded his European Golden Boot award before a full house at Old Trafford last night, then put West Ham to the sword with a first-half double to give Manchester United a comfortable victory.

Everton Get 1-1 Draw With United

Everton produced a magnificent second-half display to come from a goal down and hold Manchester United to an absorbing 1-1 draw at Goodison Park in the early kick off. Wayne Rooney’s return to his former club ended early as he was substituted by Sir Alex Ferguson after receiving a yellow card.

All the pre-match focus was naturally on Rooney after his run of nine goals in seven games and the fact that he was chasing his 100th career strike, but his game ended in acrimony as he was booked for a clash with Mikel Arteta and then kissed the United badge in full view of his former fans before being hauled off for his own good by Ferguson.

In the end it was Marouane Fellaini who proved the hero on Saturday as his towering header cancelled out Darren Fletcher’s fine first-half effort, and The Toffees could well have taken a surprise lead when Yakubu Aiyegbeni struck the post on 65 minutes.

United Beat Celtic in Champions League

A Dimitar Berbatov double and a strike from Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a comfortable 3-0 victory over Celtic in their Champions League encounter at Old Trafford.

United dominated from almost the first whistle although the former Tottenham striker looked offside when he flicked the ball past Hoops goalkeeper Artur Boruc from close range in the 30th minute.

Berbatov grabbed his fourth goal for United in the competition in the 51st minute when he pounced after Boruc had parried a Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick before Rooney wrapped up the three Group E points with a drive from the edge of the box.

Rooney Back On Form Against West Brom

Wayne Rooney`s goal scoring run continued against West Bromwich Albion in yesterday`s late kick off.

Rooney started the second half rout at Old Trafford, but also had a perfectly valid first-half effort ruled out for a phantom push on Gianni Zuiverloon and assisted on goals for Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, with strike partner Dimitar Berbatov scoring the other.

West Brom never really looked likely to score, or even interested in scoring. And after the restart, United maintained their ferocious tempo and finally wore down the visitors.

Capello Gives Rooney A Lift

Wayne Rooney has highlighted his work with Fabio Capello as the key to his recent performances for England and believes he is in better form now than in 2004.

Rooney has been working on his finishing with the England boss and the end product is five goals in his last three matches – and a giant stride towards the 2010 World Cup.

The Manchester United forward feels he is surpassing his efforts four years ago when he took the European Championships by storm.

Capello’s arrival as Steve McClaren’s successor has given Rooney a lift – not least because he is paired with Emile Heskey who creates room for the 22-year-old.

Rovers Swept Aside by United

It has been a slow start to the season for United, but after four successive wins in all competitions, they remain the team to beat. Paul Ince, the Blackburn Rovers manager, could point to Steve Bennett’s failure to award a foul on Jason Brown by Nemanja Vidic that allowed United their opening goal, but a correct decision from the referee would merely have postponed the inevitable.

Rooney and Ronaldo could have had hat-tricks, while Berbatov was at the heart of everything that United did well, his passing visionary, his speed of thought imperious.

Wes Brown and Wayne Rooney were United`s goalscorers.

Scholes & Fletcher Sign New Contracts

Paul Scholes, who suffered knee ligament damage this week against Aalborg which will rule him out until mid-December, has agreed a one-year extension that ties him to the club until the end of next season.

Fletcher, meanwhile, has agreed a contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until June 2012.

Dimitar Berbatov scored his first goal for the Reds

Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were both injured in the 3-0 Champions League victory over Aalborg in Denmark last night. Paul Scholes was carried off with knee ligament damage in the 11th minute while star-striker Wayne Rooney hobbled off in the second-half of the 3-0 win with an ankle problem.

On the plus side for United, Cristiano Ronaldo completed his first full 90 minutes. And, Dimitar Berbatov scored his first goal for the club. In fact he scored twice, Rooney scored the other one.