It was never expected that Wayne Rooney would come on the field for Manchester United during Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace and so everyone was astonished to see the England international start in the English Premier League encounter. Although Rooney did not only play the full ninety minutes for his side, he scored an important goal from a long range free kick. And now manager David Moyes has defended his decision to field Rooney for the match, stressing his need for match practise.
“It was a difficult decision,” Moyes said. “We were going to see how he felt with it, but until Friday we hadn’t even got it. In my mind he’s been training great, so I felt that if he could wear it then we would try and get him out [for Saturday’s game].”
Rooney used a protective headgear for the match to shield his head injury which happened to him after a collision with Phil Jones during a training session and which kept him out of action during England’s midweek matches.
“Because of his lack of match practice, I felt if I could get him 90 minutes it would go a long way towards the overall goal of getting him match sharpness and match fitness. He looks fine. He went for a couple of headers as well with it. It looked as if he didn’t feel any problem protecting it, but as I’m sure you’ve all seen, it’s a really bad cut he had,” Moyes added.
Rooney had been at the centre of all the news during the transfer window with his alleged wish to leave the club and the voracious attempts by Chelsea to sign him. But ultimately he decided to stay at the club and now the supporters would wish for him to perform with the same intensity every time.
However, latest reports from Dailymail suggest that Arsenal will go back for £30m Rooney bid and hope Ozil presence will secure United target. The club believes that Rooney will consider their bid seriously, even though he seemed to prefer to move to Chelsea in the summer, because they have now signed Germany playmaker Ozil.
The other United player who also impressed everyone with his performance during this game was youngster Adnan Januzaj. The 18 year old Belgian came on as a substitute but turned many heads with his skill. And now he has found an admirer in United full back Fabio who believes that Januzaj is set for big things at the club.
“He is a top player. He is only young but he can dribble, he can shoot and he can cross. He is a clever boy. He will contribute a lot for Manchester United this season and in the future as well,” Fabio was quoted as saying.
Talking to the club’s official website, Januzaj has claimed that he will give everything.
“I felt great and shocked because I played for about 25 minutes and that was my first [league] game,” Adnan told MUTV. “I think I did some good things, but it is only my debut so I have to keep doing well on the pitch. I appreciate the very good fans, they gave me a bit of power when I came on the pitch. I am very happy.
“I hoped to get a goal but I tried to do my best for the team and tried to give goals and score goals. I just tried to do my best. Of course, I want more games to play and I hope I will have another chance to play for the first team. If I have the chance then I will give everything for the club.”