Wayne Rooney reached the landmark of 200 goals
for Manchester United as manager David Moyes
made a winning start to his first Champions
League group campaign.
Rooney has emerged as United's outstanding performer
so far this season after a summer of transfer
speculation and he was the inspiration once more as
Bayer Leverkusen were comfortably beaten.
The striker - still wearing protection on the head wound
that sidelined him for the defeat at Liverpool and
England's draw in Ukraine - put the hosts ahead in
contentious fashion as the German side appealed
furiously for offside.
And United had to survive a minor scare when
Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes equalised early in the
second half before Moyes' side fashioned the emphatic
victory their superiority deserved.
Robin van Persie's acrobatic volley put United back in
front before Rooney turned on the style once more by
scoring United's third and setting up another for
Antonio Valencia with a pass weighted to perfection.
Omer Toprak's scrappy late second for Bayer could not
take the gloss off a highly satisfactory night for Moyes
on his first European adventure with United.
Rooney produced a body of evidence that only
emphasised why Moyes and United were so steadfast in
their refusal to consider his sale, despite the player's
discontent and offers from Premier League rivals
Chelsea.
Rooney's rehabilitation has been impressive and he was
easily United's most dangerous performer as the
Premier League champions got the three points they
needed to start this Group A campaign.
He proved too powerful for the Bundesliga side to
control and it would have been a familiar sight to their
coach Sami Hyypia after his 10-year career at
Liverpool.
Son Heung-Min was unfortunate to be shown a yellow
card for a tussle with Rooney - but Leverkusen's pain
was even more acute when he put United ahead in
controversial fashion after 22 minutes.
Leverkusen thought Van Persie was offside in the build
up but they were even more aggrieved when the
referee's assistant - standing almost on top of the
incident - failed to spot Valencia standing in a clearly
offside position alongside keeper Bernd Leno as Rooney
swept in Patrice Evra's cross.
Leverkusen showed signs of life after Rooney's goal but
it was United, with Marouane Fellaini patrolling midfield
effectively on his full debut, who were dictating terms
and creating the better chances, with Rooney just off
target with a free-kick and Shinji Kagawa's shot
deflected just wide.
Rooney should have doubled United's lead, or at least
given Van Persie the opportunity to do so, in a
remarkable passage of play early in the second half.
Toprak's slip left Rooney clear as he rounded Leno but
he decided to shoot rather than play the simplest of
passes to Van Persie in front of an open net and fired
his effort across the face of goal.
It was real reprieve for Leverkusen and they took full
advantage seconds later as captain Rolfes swept a
precise finish past motionless United keeper David de
Gea, with the help of the slightest glance off Michael
Carrick, after 54 minutes.
Leverkusen were only on terms for five minutes before
Van Persie restored United's advantage with a typically
athletic volley from Valencia's cross - although he was
aided by a dubious attempt to save from Leno, who
flapped limply at the shot as it went past him.
It effectively settled the contest and Rooney wrapped it
up with a clever finish past Leno at the near post for a
200th United goal since his move from Everton in
2004.
And there was a touch of the old United flourishes
when they went further in front with 12 minutes left.
Rooney was instrumental once more as they broke at
pace, bursting clear before providing an inviting pass
for Valencia to take in his stride and drill past Leno.
Toprak scrambled in Leverkusen's second after 87
minutes - but it hardly qualified as consolation and Van
Persie should have scored another only to somehow
turn his effort across the face of an open goal when it
seemed more difficult to miss.
for Manchester United as manager David Moyes
made a winning start to his first Champions
League group campaign.
Rooney has emerged as United's outstanding performer
so far this season after a summer of transfer
speculation and he was the inspiration once more as
Bayer Leverkusen were comfortably beaten.
The striker - still wearing protection on the head wound
that sidelined him for the defeat at Liverpool and
England's draw in Ukraine - put the hosts ahead in
contentious fashion as the German side appealed
furiously for offside.
And United had to survive a minor scare when
Leverkusen captain Simon Rolfes equalised early in the
second half before Moyes' side fashioned the emphatic
victory their superiority deserved.
Robin van Persie's acrobatic volley put United back in
front before Rooney turned on the style once more by
scoring United's third and setting up another for
Antonio Valencia with a pass weighted to perfection.
Omer Toprak's scrappy late second for Bayer could not
take the gloss off a highly satisfactory night for Moyes
on his first European adventure with United.
Rooney produced a body of evidence that only
emphasised why Moyes and United were so steadfast in
their refusal to consider his sale, despite the player's
discontent and offers from Premier League rivals
Chelsea.
Rooney's rehabilitation has been impressive and he was
easily United's most dangerous performer as the
Premier League champions got the three points they
needed to start this Group A campaign.
He proved too powerful for the Bundesliga side to
control and it would have been a familiar sight to their
coach Sami Hyypia after his 10-year career at
Liverpool.
Son Heung-Min was unfortunate to be shown a yellow
card for a tussle with Rooney - but Leverkusen's pain
was even more acute when he put United ahead in
controversial fashion after 22 minutes.
Leverkusen thought Van Persie was offside in the build
up but they were even more aggrieved when the
referee's assistant - standing almost on top of the
incident - failed to spot Valencia standing in a clearly
offside position alongside keeper Bernd Leno as Rooney
swept in Patrice Evra's cross.
Leverkusen showed signs of life after Rooney's goal but
it was United, with Marouane Fellaini patrolling midfield
effectively on his full debut, who were dictating terms
and creating the better chances, with Rooney just off
target with a free-kick and Shinji Kagawa's shot
deflected just wide.
Rooney should have doubled United's lead, or at least
given Van Persie the opportunity to do so, in a
remarkable passage of play early in the second half.
Toprak's slip left Rooney clear as he rounded Leno but
he decided to shoot rather than play the simplest of
passes to Van Persie in front of an open net and fired
his effort across the face of goal.
It was real reprieve for Leverkusen and they took full
advantage seconds later as captain Rolfes swept a
precise finish past motionless United keeper David de
Gea, with the help of the slightest glance off Michael
Carrick, after 54 minutes.
Leverkusen were only on terms for five minutes before
Van Persie restored United's advantage with a typically
athletic volley from Valencia's cross - although he was
aided by a dubious attempt to save from Leno, who
flapped limply at the shot as it went past him.
It effectively settled the contest and Rooney wrapped it
up with a clever finish past Leno at the near post for a
200th United goal since his move from Everton in
2004.
And there was a touch of the old United flourishes
when they went further in front with 12 minutes left.
Rooney was instrumental once more as they broke at
pace, bursting clear before providing an inviting pass
for Valencia to take in his stride and drill past Leno.
Toprak scrambled in Leverkusen's second after 87
minutes - but it hardly qualified as consolation and Van
Persie should have scored another only to somehow
turn his effort across the face of an open goal when it
seemed more difficult to miss.
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