THE MOMENT Wayne Rooney had craved arrived five minutes from the end. Here was the goal he probably needed to soothe his state of mind and seal his second coming as a Manchester United player. That it should come from the penalty spot mattered little and when Rooney ran to celebrate in front of the away supporters this was his chance to release some of that pent-up frustration.

He looked lean, apparently half a stone lighter after his week-long training camp in the US and after being of questionable fitness for so long, it would have been encouraging for the club he was able to play the entire match without any visible signs of tiring.

Rooney even threw off his gloves at one point, as if to say he meant business. His last goal for United from open play came almost eight months ago in a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Other than that, there was a penalty against West Ham on August 28th.

Now we have something approaching a sense of closure. Or, to put it another way, a feeling that at long last we can go back to talking about what Rooney is doing on the pitch rather than off it. The man who scored 34 goals last season is not going to deliver the public apology Alex Ferguson said would be forthcoming.

Another opportunity was missed in a pre-recorded interview, shown on ITV before the match, in which he did a commendable job of keeping a straight face as he argued his contract dispute was “nothing to do with money” – but he’ll be acutely aware that the best currency when it comes to winning forgiveness will be to drag himself out of his slump.

For long spells Rooney played as though he was feeling his way back into it – simple tap-ins, nothing too elaborate, less demonstrative than usual. But there were encouraging signs. Five minutes before the interval Fabio da Silva surged down the left wing and crossed. Rooney’s header flashed against the crossbar.

The second half was in its infancy when he curled a 25-yard free-kick narrowly wide and there was the sense of a man growing into the game. In the 55th minute Rooney’s touch to play in Michael Carrick was exquisite. He then wasted two opportunities in quick succession, but even then his body language remained positive.

In the end Rooney got to have the last word. He’ll hope this was the first day of the rest of his life.

Guardian Service