Rooney double keeps United in hunt Sunday February 27, 2005
Wayne Wonder
Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Wayne Rooney as "absolutely magnificent" after the teenager kept Manchester United's bid to catch Chelsea at the top of the Premiership on track with a superb double strike against Portsmouth.
A 2-1 win cut Chelsea's advantage back to six points. The London club, who play Liverpool in the League Cup final on Sunday, retain a game in hand.
But by the time they play Norwich next Saturday, United could have reduced their lead to just three points if they beat Crystal Palace earlier in the day.
Ferguson acknowledged his side had been short of their best after a draining Champions League defeat by AC Milan in midweek. But he was unstinting in his praise for Rooney.
"He was by far our best player," the Scot said. "He was absolutely magnificent today. And he's a winner, he was one taking the baton up and making the run for the line. The whole day he was on song."
For most of the second half, after Gary O'Neill had cancelled out Rooney's sweetly taken opener, it looked as if Portsmouth, the last side to beat United in the league back in October, would defy the odds once more.
But Rooney had other ideas. With ten minutes left, the teenager collected a pass from Ruud van Nistelrooy in his stride and surged into the box before finishing with aplomb to make it six league wins in a row for Ferguson's side.
Ferguson revealed that Rio Ferdinand had missed the match with a hamstring injury while skipper Roy Keane was rested and Gary Neville came off injured at half-time.
"All these changes do not help in terms of continuity but the most important thing is that we won the game," he said.
"Over the years I've seen these kind of results result in us going for championships. It also stressed the determination and perseverence of Manchester United."
