Patrick Barclay: The only drama at Manchester United comes from Rooney

 
Getty
18 September 2013

The return of Barcelona to Parkhead in 13 days’ time will be a reminder that the group stages of the Champions League can provide unforgettable drama.

Last night at Old Trafford was routine fare, memorable mainly for the milestones reached by David Moyes and Wayne Rooney.

Bayer Leverkusen, sad to say, provided little more than spirit and endeavour along with useful evidence that not everything produced by German football comes with a stamp of quality.

The attempt made by Bernd Leno, their 21-year-old goalkeeper, to save Robin van Persie’s overhead volley suggested a mind elsewhere and there were other moments when you wondered if this team were in the same league as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, let alone competing with them in the leading group.

Maybe it was just a bad night for Sami Hyypia’s men. For Moyes and Manchester United, winners by 4-2, there were few problems. Moyes could enjoy his first group-stage encounter as a manager (it is sometimes forgotten that he played at this level for Celtic in the early 1980s) and Rooney celebrate a 200th goal for United.

In his eagerness to get it, he made a silly mistake, being tempted to score from an unpromising angle rather than give Van Persie a tap-in and falling between two stools as the ball rolled across the goalmouth and out of play (I often think this is the one common error that links star professionals to pub-team lummocks like ourselves).

Rooney soon reverted to his best, giving Leno the eyes as he scored at the near post. He celebrated with a grin and a growl, the latter in refusing to answer an inquiry as to his permanence at Old Trafford.

His reputation as a bit of a drama queen is growing and certainly the United support will be hoping Rooney’s coyness is an act, for he looks lean and mean and attuned to Van Persie.

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