Rooney equals Sir Bobby’s scoring record as rampant United run riot against Reading

Football in the UK

It was a flicker of delight which lit up a dreary and drizzly Manchester day. Sat in the directors' box, Sir Bobby Charlton face broke into a smile of spontaneous pleasure and he led the applause, one Manchester United great acknowledging another.

Wayne Rooney may never be quite so lovingly embraced in the collective national consciousness as the man whose record he equalled. In fact it would be hard for Rooney to match Sir Bobby in any other respect than his goalscoring record. This, after all, is a survivor of the Munich disaster and a World Cup winner.

Yet, in recent months, when Rooney has drifted towards the periphery of teams, it has been easy to forget just how significant his career has actually been. As such, on Saturday afternoon, albeit against an incredibly open Reading side in as straightforward a FA Cup third-round tie as you will see, was an abrupt reminder.

Indeed, at times we were rolling back the years. There were little touches and passes from Rooney, playing at No 10 behind Marcus Rashford, which were a throwback to the teenage tyro who scored his first three goals here for this club on that thrilling debut against Fenerbahce more than 12 years ago.

Then, we all surmised, it might not last; that his career might be short and spectacular. Instead, it was steadier than perhaps many had hoped; but it has also been much longer than we suspected.

The records tell their own story: 249 goals at United, equalling Sir Bobby; 119 caps for England, more than David Beckham; and 53 goals, also breaking the record set by Sir Bobby.

The disappointments are mainly confined to the international game; at Old Trafford, 10 trophies tell of sustained success, even if it has waned in recent years, his relative decline mirroring his club's. Indeed, had Sir Alex Ferguson, also sat in the stands applauding, not retired, we probably would have never had this moment, the former manager having concluded Rooney past his prime.

But he stayed and history has been made. When the moment came, he might have wished it a little more elegant. Anthony Martial slipped through the Reading defence, set up Juan Mata, who dinked the ball across the penalty area. Rooney stuck out a leg, the ball struck his knee and it deflected past Ali Al-Habsi. A striker's goal, the professionals would say; an instinctive knack for getting a limb in the right place at the right time.

There have been better goals at more significant moments. And it has taken its time coming, since that Europa League goal back in November. So he greeted it with an understated acknowledgement as teammates clamoured around. But the affection with which it was met was genuine.

Rooney has tested the love of United fans over the years with transfer requests. And as a Liverpudlian, he would always have to work that bit harder for acceptance. But his name echoed around the rooftops of Old Trafford.

Whether he can now enjoy a glorious finale to his career in the coming years remains a moot point.

'The best day will arrive for him,' said Jose Mourinho ' This is not the best day. It's just a question of when.' He meant of course that he will go on and break the record. In the more immediate future, he won't start against Hull City in the EFL Cup this week, with Mourinho saying that players who were rested yesterday would return.

Still, it was a day for tributes. 'Everyone knows who Sir Bobby is and what he means for the history of the club and the history of English football,' continued Mourinho. 'For Wayne to score that number of goals for Manchester United is fantastic.'

Stay at United, and there may yet be more trophies to be accumulated for Rooney. This was an eight consecutive win for Mourinho's team and the United of old seems to be finally stirring once again after three dormant years.

Another United great, Jaap Stam remembers those days. A promising manager of a bright championship team, he nevertheless couldn't provide a serious test to rejuvenated United, even one with nine changes from Monday's game at West Ham.

‘I’m really happy with our attitude,’ said Mourinho. ‘I could feel it from the first minute. The team was intense, dynamic and playing well.’

Indeed, within 88 seconds both the sprightly Rashford and Rooney had shots which might have opened the scoring. That was a marker. Rooney’s goal would follow on seven minutes; Martial, exchanging a one-two with man of the moment, would drift through the Reading defence on 16 minutes and add the second; Rashford and Martial might have added more and the only setback was a Marcos Rojo injury.

Reading, idealistic yet hopelessly open, were beaten before they had a chance to get a foothold in the game. Stam was greeted warmly, the ‘Jip, Jaap Stam’ song having frequent airings. But this wasn’t the return he planned, though he chose to take positives.

‘I think it was a great experience,’ he said. ‘It’s not just an experience if you win a game but also if you lose a game. If you get the chance to play against a side like this, it’s good for the players. I hate losing – even when you lay against a side like United. But it’s what the players do with it.’

But as his players’ energy was sapped, so was their resolve. Rooney might have broken the record on 57 minutes but was denied by Al-Habsi. Carrick’s pass on 75 minutes was nicely measured but Joey van den Berg should have intercepted it. Instead, he allowed Rashford in, who finished clinically, curling it past the keeper.

The worst was to come though on 79 minutes. AlHabsi exchanged passes with Liam Moore but completely missed the return, miskicked haplessly, allowing Rashford to sprint past and fairly smash the ball over the line in delight. That’s 14 goals for the nineteen-year old since making his debut just over ten months ago; just 235 to go. Yesterday Yesterday Yesterday Yesterday Yesterday

Wayne Rooney (above) was recalled to the starting XI for the FA Cup third-round tie against Reading and scored after just six minutes