ROO’S BACK AND BLUE
Rampant Reds batter Wayne on his return
MANCHESTER UNITED ran riot to wallop Wayne Rooney on his return to Old Trafford yesterday.
Rooney received a hero’s welcome but was subbed late on as goals from Antonio Valencia, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Romelu Lukaku and Anthony Martial sent Everton tumbling into the bottom three.
United join Manchester City at the top of the table, but boss Jose Mourinho said: “Today I didn’t think one single second about City.
“I thought about Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool. They lost or they didn’t win and it was
a chance to get two points. City won the game and did their job, the others, I saw it was an opportunity we did not waste.”
The game was all about strikers facing their old clubs, with Rooney returning to United for the first time since his summer return to his boyhood club and Lukaku facing Everton following his £90m move in the opposite direction.
Lukaku won the battle and has now plundered seven goals in as many games since joining United this summer.
Mourinho, who dismissed reports that Paul Pogba could be out of action for 12 weeks with a hamstring tear, said: ‘‘His goal, the second, was the most important – it’s nice for him.”
The pressure on Everton boss Ronald Koeman is mounting, but the Dutchman said: “Every manager in life has doubts. Let’s talk at the end of the season.”