Wayne Rooney’s 200th Premier League goal was particularly sweet as it came before a Manchester City crowd who just love to detest the former Manchester United captain. Rooney left Old Trafford in the summer for Everton as record scorer with 253 goals. Here he registered a 19th finish for his boyhood club, an instinctive left-foot jab that squeezed under Ederson’s legs before ricocheting in via the left post. Rooney duly put extra spice into his celebration at a venue he has previously enjoyed for United.
It may also have been for the message the goal sent to his international manager. Three days before the England squad is picked Rooney was out to impress the watching Gareth Southgate by continuing his impressive start to the campaign.
The 31-year-old made the move back to Everton to revive his career. The club’s Europa League campaign kicked off in late July so this second Premier League outing was Rooney’s fifth match of 2016-17, meaning a footballer who needs continual game time was already up to speed.
So far the dividend was the winner against Stoke City at Goodison Park on the domestic campaign’s opening day and an assist for Idrissa Gueye’s second in a 2-0 Europa League victory over Hajduk Split last Thursday.
Here Ronald Koeman lined him up behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a 3-5-1-1. The question was how much service Rooney would receive given the uber-attacking formation Pep Guardiola chose. An early answer suggested not too much if his own team-mates were to hoof the ball out as Michael Keane did on the right. Rooney had started a run into City territory but was left screaming in frustration at the centre-back’s lack of vision.
If Rooney really is to enjoy a resurgence he may need to rediscover the edge he had at his peak. There was a flash of the old nastiness when tussling with Fernandinho, the sole midfield enforcer selected by Guardiola and a man who enjoys looking after himself.
The night’s first fascination had been in the Catalan’s selection: who of the 10-strong cadre of attackers Guardiola has assembled might he actually field? The answer was that last week’s front four at Brighton became a five as Leroy Sané joined Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Agüero, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva in the same 3-5-2 shape.
This meant Danilo, a defender, dropped to the bench where he joined Yaya Touré, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva, four more of the 10-man attack pack, which is completed by Ilkay Gündogan, who was deemed not match fit due to his recovery from a knee injury. That season’s opener had ended in a 2-0 City win in which Agüero, one of Guardiola’s two strikers, scored .
Each of the squads had been bolstered by sizeable summer investments. Guardiola’s spend stood at £201.8m and Koeman’s £140.9m. The visiting manager has added eight players in all, two of which were Cuco Martina and Rooney on a free. While the £45m Gylfi Sigurdsson was given a 30-minute cameo from the bench, Rooney spent the contest in a midfield-harrying position when Everton chased the ball and in classic No10 areas when they hogged it.
His goal derived from a textbook shift from the space between the home midfield and defence into a danger zone as he got on the end of Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s cross to beat Ederson, who might have done better.
Adam Lallana’s thigh injury has opened up a berth in Southgate’s squad and he must surely be impressed at how Rooney is knocking on the door to be recalled. The last of his 119 caps came in November’s 3-0 win over Scotland at Wembley in a 2018 World Cup qualifier. That preceded the infamous “late night” at the team hotel, for which Rooney apologised.
On Monday night the opposite of regret will have surged through his veins as the second period began. At United last season Rooney netted in the first match, a 3-1 victory at Bournemouth, then did not score again in the league in 2016, ending the drought five months later on 21 January in a 1-1 draw at Stoke.
England’s next two games are World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia. If Southgate recalls Rooney, he should have a footballer in his ranks who is flying. One second-half moment summed this up. A long clearance was booted the onrushing Rooney’s way and without wavering he hitch-kicked the ball under his control, then turned it infield.
Rooney may burn bright then fade as the season ages. But here he was the goalscorer for a second consecutive time in a league supposedly the continent’s toughest. There is not much more he can do. So it will be interesting to discover how Southgate views his former captain when he announces his squad later this week.