Rooney and Ronaldo inspire United Sunday, October 29, 2006
Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick on Saturday and ended a 10-match scoring drought to lead Manchester United to a 4-0 Premier League win at Bolton.
"It was going to happen sooner or later," Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said. "I spoke to Wayne beforehand and just told him to relax and keep concentrating.
"Once he got the first one, you could see the confidence coming back and after that, I was just hoping the ball would go to him all the time."
Cristiano Ronaldo got the other goal as United stayed top of the league with 25 points, leading champion Chelsea on goal difference.
"Chelsea have laid down a marker but we want to challenge them," Ferguson said. "There is a growing confidence within the club, we are looking very strong and we will have a good go."
Rooney opened the scoring in the 10th minute from a cross by Michael Carrick and made it 2-0 six minutes later when he curled the ball into the corner of the net beyond the reach of goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Ronaldo scored before Rooney completed the scoring in the 89th from a cross by Darren Fletcher.
"Apart from the third goal, there was very little we could do to stop him," Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said. "The first two were magnificent goals made of outstanding quality."
It was the second hat-trick in the 21-year-old Rooney's career. His first was two years ago on his Champions League debut against Turkey's Fenerbahce.
