DHAKA: David Moyes got his first Champions League group stage win as Wayne Rooney`s landmark double helped Manchester United to a 4-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen Wednesday (Thailand time) at Old Trafford.
Manchester United`s Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring against Bayer Leverkusen during their Champions League match at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Rooney struck midway through the first half after Patrice Evra – who Leverkusen felt was offside – found him with a left-wing cross. That was his 28th Champions League goal, a British record.
Leverkusen drew level in the second half when Simon Rolfes curled a stunning strike past David De Gea, via a slight deflection off Michael Carrick.
United restored their lead five minutes later when Van Persie unleashed a trademark volley, contorting his body to hammer the ball through Berndt Leno. It was spectacular but the keeper should have saved it.
Rooney extended the lead with a cool finish after a defensive howler by Emir Spahic, the England striker`s 200th goal for United and 29th in Europe`s top competition.
Valencia added a fourth with a driven finish to seal a classic United counter, as Rooney bagged an assist with a lovely weighted pass.
Omer Toprak bundled a late consolation home after De Gea flapped at a corner, and seconds later Van Persie marked a contender for miss of the season as he heeled the ball wide of an open goal from just two yards out.
Meanwhile, a scintillating second half display got Manchester City`s Champions League campaign off to a winning start, with goals from Edin Dzeko, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero securing a comfortable 3-0 win over Viktoria Plzen.
The result means City share top spot in Group D with reigning champions Bayern Munich, as Manuel Pellegrini`s side aims to progress beyond the group stage for the first time.
Plzen began the better of the two sides, causing City problems on the counter attack. Pellegrini`s side looked surprised at the start made by the hosts and were almost caught out when Joe Hart was forced to parry through a crowd of players from a wicked Pavel Horvath set piece.
But with City on the back-foot Dzeko was presented with a glorious opportunity to find the net, rising to meet Aleksandar Kolarov`s floated cross. However, the Bosnian striker planted his header straight at the keeper.
The visitors continued to improve as the half progressed and came even closer to breaking the deadlock, with Sergio Aguero cracking a left-footed effort off the post after driving at the opposition defence.
After the break City found their scoring touch, with Dzeko finishing off a move created entirely by Aguero, before Toure swept home from 20 yards, finding the top corner with an exceptional right-footed effort.
Aguero notched the goal his performance deserved, angling a low-shot into the bottom corner after evading the challenges of several Plzen defenders, putting the finishing touches on an impressive second half display.
Source: bangkokpost
BDST: 1104 HRS, SEP 18, 2013
RS/BSK
