Wayne Rooney: United have a ‘psychological’ advantage over Manchester City

Manchester United talisman Wayne Rooney netted a first-half brace as the Red Devils knocked their noisy neighbours out of the FA Cup on Sunday.

United, who were 3-0 up at halftime, held off City to win by the narrowest of margins, 3-2.

Nonetheless, United came out victorious and rightfully so.

“We want to go far in the FA Cup this year. If we could win today we would have knocked one of the better teams out and give ourselves a bit more of a chance,” Rooney told ITV.

“Psychologically, winning here will be great for us [as we play them again] in the third-to-last game of the season.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game today and obviously going 3-0 up we took our foot off the gas a little bit. City got two goals and we had to make sure we saw the game out which we managed to do so.

“As a team we played really well. We defended excellently and got ourselves into shape and hit them on the counter. Thankfully it worked.”

The Return of Paul Scholes

Sunday’s Manchester derby also marked the return of United legend Paul Scholes.

“It was a bit of a shock, to be honest. We didn’t know until we were in the dressing room,” Rooney added.

“It’s great. It gave everyone a lift. He’s a fantastic player and showed his quality when he came on.”

City Comeback

Despite the loss, Roberto Mancini believes that Manchester City’s spirited 10-man comeback against United can help City win the title.

“I think today is important for us for the league,” said Mancini.

“I think now we can win the league. United is a top squad in England and if we play like this afternoon against them with 10 players and we have the same attitude, the same strength in every game, we will win the league.

“I said at half time that we needed to defend very well and we defended very, very well.

“We didn’t concede any chances to United in the second half – this is not easy with 10 players against United.

“At Old Trafford with 10 men they lost 6-1, and they played for 40 minutes with 10 players. We played for 80 minutes with 10 players and we didn’t concede any chances in the second-half.

“We scored two goals, we had other chances to score. I think for us – who needed to improve – it was a fantastic performance.”