MX23RW : Monday, December 23 17:08:08| >> :120:8909:8909:
[monks data]
Attendance: 27,423
Stoke logo
Premier League
Jan 21, 2017 at 3pm UK
 
Manchester United logo

1-1

Mata (19' og.)
FT(HT: 1-0)
Rooney (94')

Wayne Rooney breaks goalscoring record to save Manchester United

Wayne Rooney becomes the all-time record goalscorer for Manchester United after scoring a last-gasp free kick for his side to secure a 1-1 draw with Stoke City.

Wayne Rooney has become Manchester United's all-time record goalscorer after scoring a last-minute free kick to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Stoke City.

The club captain has been waiting to move past Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 249 goals for some weeks, but he finally achieved it with a stunning set piece in the fourth minute of added-on time to deny Stoke.

It was harsh on the home side, who had defended valiantly throughout the match at the Britannia Stadium, but United deserved a share of the spoils and Rooney's strike came in fitting circumstances.

The opening quarter-of-an-hour passed by without incident, but it was the visitors who were in the ascendancy, especially down the right flank through Antonio Valencia and Juan Mata.

However, against the run of play, Stoke went ahead after Mata turned the ball into his own net when attempting to prevent an Erik Pieters cross being played across the six-yard box.

Despite falling behind, United remained on top and after Marouane Fellaini had headed too close to Lee Grant, Mata missed a glorious opportunity at the back post as he fired over from six yards after meeting Zlatan Ibrahimovic's cross.

Chris Smalling and Henrik Mkhitaryan both sent attempts over the crossbar within two minutes of each other, before United threw men forward during the final minutes of the first half.

Fellaini saw a volley tipped over by Grant before the resulting corner led to Paul Pogba being denied by a fine reaction save from the goalkeeper after connecting sweetly from 10 yards.

After the restart, United picked up where they left off but they were struggling to create the same number of chances as they did during the opening 45 minutes.

As for Stoke, they carried more of a threat with Peter Crouch sending a speculative volley wide of the target and Xherdan Shaqiri curling the ball too close to David de Gea.

Jose Mourinho had introduced both Marcus Rashford and Rooney and the pair combined to fashion an opportunity for the younger of the two with 15 minutes left, but Rashford curled wide from around 16 yards out.

Moments later, Rooney had the chance to get on the scoresheet when the ball fell invitingly to him inside the penalty area but he miscued his header over the bar.

Stoke looked a threat on the break but they began to tire towards the closing stages and it only invited pressure from United, with Pogba sending a shot straight at Grant.

The visitors came even closer with two minutes remaining when Jesse Lingard turned on the edge of the penalty area before striking the crossbar from distance with Grant beaten.

It appeared that Stoke were going to hang on for a hard-earned victory but in the fourth minute of added-on time, Rooney found the top corner of Grant's net from the side of the penalty area to make United history.

ID:290003: cacheID:290003:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5642:
Written by
Darren Plant
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Henrikh Mkhitaryan celebrates scoring during the Premier League game between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur on December 11, 2016
Read Next:
Mkhitaryan praises United squad strength
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!