Wayne Rooney
disappoints, Manchester United held to goalless draw by Crystal Palace.
Manchester
United, after the draw are fourth in the table, four points behind leaders
Manchester City.
Wayne Rooney, England’s leading
international scorer, looks a shadow of the player who has plundered 187
Premier League goals in his career.
Wayne Rooney endured another
frustratingly disappointing afternoon in Manchester United’s 0-0 Premier League
draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The England striker, starting in his
favoured central role, huffed and puffed to little effect with just one effort
on target before finishing the match wide on the left having done little to
silence his mounting critics.
The 30-year-old Rooney, England’s
leading international scorer, looks a shadow of the player who has plundered
187 Premier League goals in his career.
He has scored only two league goals
this season and his first involvement at Palace was a heated argument with
referee Mike Jones after he penalised a United player.
Rooney curled an inviting 20-metre free
kick from a central position too close to goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey and lifted
another free kick harmlessly over his team mates and into touch.
Released by a fine pass from fellow
striker Anthony Martial, the former Everton forward failed to control the ball
and wasted an opportunity before being caught offside in another promising
position.
Rooney, however, continued to work
tirelessly for United’s cause, tracking back and doing his fair share of
defensive work.
With 20 minutes remaining, manager
Louis van Gaal shunted him out to the left and moved Martial into the middle,
the 19-year-old Frenchman’s better pace and mobility offering more of an
attacking threat.
Rooney cut inside to send a 25-metre
drive sailing over the bar to the delight of the home fans and his final
contribution was to head away a deep free kick from Palace in stoppage time as
United hung on for their third goalless draw in a week.
As he trudged off the pitch, Rooney
raised his hands to applaud the away supporters who will have drifted away from
Selhurst Park wondering if their captain’s loss of form is terminal.
Thirteen years as a professional
footballer look to have taken their toll on his body and Van Gaal seems to have
a difficult task to find a way to revitalise his once inspirational captain.
The draw left United fourth in the
table, four points behind leaders Manchester City, and Palace in eighth
position.
mal'>Midfielders: Eugenson Lyngdoh, Cavin Lobo, Sehnaj Singh, Pronoy Halder,
Francis Fernandes, Rowlin Borges, Romeo Fernandes, Bikash Jairu, Harmanjot
Singh Khabra.
Forwards: Jeje Lalpekhlua, Robin Singh,
Sunil Chhetri, Holicharan Narzary.
amily:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman"'>, not only mimicked the batsman’s patent ‘helicopter shot’
on stage but also agreed with the the skipper on IPL easing tension between
players.
“I agree MS about IPL. IPL has done
wonders for the entire cricket fraternity. Yes, there is friendly sledging,
like I enjoy with (Kieron) Pollard — Mumbai Indians player — but otherwise it’s
cool,” said the destructive Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) opener.
No comments:
Post a Comment