FA Cup – Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

#5 There’s still life in Wayne Rooney

It’s been an odd couple of years for Wayne Rooney as his decline as a player coinciding with his ageing body has not settled in well for the scouser and his umpteen fans. The idea has been rather inexplicable that his talismanic aura may finally have ceded and it would be time for him to move on.

Wayne Rooney has been a permanent presence since his debut for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson. Not without reason but toward the end of Ferguson’s reign as manager, he tried to get Wayne to reinvent himself in a different position and at that point Rooney ended up disgruntled and unwilling.

Fast forward a few years and suddenly we have him playing almost as a central midfielder and struggling to come to terms with it visibly but now he is less disgruntled and seems to have accepted his fate except for the rambling that the game is beyond him at the highest level. Wayne Rooney earned his FA Cup medal, which has twice evaded him before this.

With Manchester United having conceded late in the game, he ran the Palace defense ragged with a stunning run before crossing perfectly for Fellaini who brought the ball down on his chest for Mata to equalize. He then worked extra hard in extra time once Smalling was sent off to connect defense and offense as he roared into tackles to make up for the loss of a player.

It was a performance that typified Wayne Rooney as United came back to win and went on to show, that there’s life in the steadily ageing Wayne yet!