A season of struggle, strife, injuries and allegations for Wayne Rooney may just have been turned on it's ugly head by a moment of genius in a game in which the England international was unimpressive and ineffective for long periods. A record tally of goals last season was never going to be matched this season, but no one thought that he could possibly perform as shoddily as what has been witnessed. Critics were beginning to suggest that perhaps Rooney's best was behind him, and that his sublime natural talents that saw him hailed as one of the best in the world were wavering much too violently.
But in a season of frustrating darkness with little direction for Rooney, an astonishingly bright light shone through at Old Trafford in a moment of pure genius - one that could only be achieved by someone who holds magnificent talents. Someone who is capable of such things due to the born instinct for scoring goals - a goal that most only dream of. Scored in the Theatre of Dreams.
As he rose in the air with his back to the goal, he was only thinking of one thing - to score. He didn't realise that if the ball rippled the back of the net, and the fans leaped off their seats in jubilation with more than a hint of astonishment, that the goal could change his season.
It is the kind of audacious attempt on goal that can only do good for the confidence of a player if it were successful. His confidence couldn't have been too low before the goal - as only someone who is solidly sure of their superior talents could even attempt the strike, but now, with his skill being replayed again and again everywhere around the world, everyone knows it. Rooney is back.
He admitted it was the best goal of his career, and one would have to agree, but it was something that Rooney felt was owed to his fans after what he put them through with the transfer saga early in the season:
"The Manchester United fans deserve that from me. I haven't had the best of seasons and I know how big this game is in Manchester, so I hope they enjoyed that."Oh, they enjoyed it alright. Football fans everywhere enjoyed it, and they will do for years to come. But it is Manchester United fans' hope that Rooney enjoyed it enough to use it as a springboard to better things - better performances this season. It is the period of the season where United are renowned for coming good, and if ever they needed both of their strikers to be firing on all cylinders, it would be now.
The treble is in reach, and although we won't be expecting any more sublime over head volleys flying into the top corner of the net in the most graceful and elegant of ways from such a physical and boisterous player, much improved performances and plenty of goals will be welcomed with open arms by United - no matter how they go in.
