Rolling back the years
Wayne Rooney scored his first ever hat-trick in Major League Soccer on Saturday night, as DC United thrashed Real Salt Lake 5-0 at home.
The first of Rooney’s three goals was a penalty, tucked away with minimal fuss, as he always has done.
The second was a result of some excellent counter-pressing from Rooney’s teammates, as Leonardo Jara recovered the ball before playing an inch perfect through ball to Rooney, whose first touch set him up perfectly to lift it over the goalkeeper with a delicate chip.
First hat trick in MLS: ✅@WayneRooney was on another level. pic.twitter.com/7BgldTB7lM
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 17, 2019
His third was simply a matter of being left unmarked in the penalty area, and stretching out a leg to poke home Júnior Moreno’s cross.
After the former England and Manchester United captain had given DC United a comfortable lead, goals from Lucas Rodrigues and Usiles Segura made it 5-0 to the home side, extending DC’s unbeaten run at the start of the 2019 MLS season.
DC are yet to concede a goal this season, with one draw against New York City FC and two wins to nil putting them in a much stronger position that Rooney found them in last season when he arrived in the American capital.
The club will be looking to push for a play-off spot after narrowly missing out last season, and with Rooney in this sort of form, they’ve got as good a chance as any team.
