Rooney scores in injury time, Man Utd escapes defeat against Stoke

The captain proved his worth with a superb free-kick to equalize 1-1 for Man Utd when the match entered the fourth minute of injury time.

Rooney rescues Man Utd as Stoke are on the verge of victory. Photo: Reuters.

Man Utd gave fans another emotional draw after drawing with Liverpool in the previous round. Stoke held the victory until the fourth minute of injury time but a moment of brilliance from Rooney snatched a point for the visitors.

It had been a while since Rooney had scored a spectacular goal, but he seemed to have saved his best for his 250th goal for the Red Devils. Starting from a free kick on the left wing, no one expected Rooney to decide to shoot straight with just over a minute left. However, the Man Utd captain made a bold decision and was rewarded with a spectacular goal that helped him take the position of the player with the most goals after a long time belonging to the legendary Bobby Charlton.

A second successive draw has kept United's spirits up but they are in danger of falling out of the top four. United are sixth on 41 points, three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal but have played a game more.

Meanwhile, the home team Stoke have the right to regret because they came very close to a third consecutive victory in the Premier League. The home team opened the scoring early thanks to an own goal by Juan Mata and played well in defense in the remaining minutes but could not foresee the breakthrough from Rooney.

Stoke's usual aggressive play made Man Utd struggle. Photo: Reuters.

Man Utd extended their unbeaten streak to 17 matches in all competitions, but as coach Mourinho said before the match, only victory is meaningful. The unbeaten streak continued but two consecutive draws caused Man Utd to suddenly stop right when they were approaching the top group.

In the match against Stoke, Man Utd had good chances to quickly equalize, even bring home three points. However, on a day when the strikers were too unlucky, Man Utd could not penetrate the opponent's net before the extra time. Coach Mourinho's team pressed the opponent from the end of the first half to the end of the second half and had at least three clear scoring situations.

The most regrettable thing was Juan Mata's shot over the bar when facing an empty goal. The Spanish midfielder was guilty of scoring an own goal but could not make up for his mistake. This was a situation where Ibrahimovic played as a teammate but in the second confrontation, the Swedish striker still chose to pass to Mata. If he had been more decisive, Ibrahimovic could have brought home the equalizer in the first half.

Man Utd's crosses from the flanks were ineffective against Stoke. Photo: Reuters.

Stoke's physical, aggressive play left Man Utd with few options. Man Utd made many high balls into the box, but Ibrahimovic and Fellaini were never comfortable finishing. Meanwhile, Pogba and Mkhitaryan, despite their efforts, could not dribble past a series of Stoke players covering for each other.

Towards the end of the match, coach Mourinho brought in three new attackers and used a variety of passes. Lingard once hit the crossbar before Rooney scored to make it 1-1.

Man Utd play Hull in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final in midweek. This is an important match and Man Utd can end the draw against the opponents at the bottom of the Premier League.

According to VNE