Wayne Rooney equals Charlton record as United steamroller Reading

Wayne Rooney equalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s Manchester United goalscoring record as the Red Devils eased into the fourth round of the FA Cup with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Reading.

Rooney was on hand to deflect home Juan Mata’s flick within the opening 10 minutes to set the ball rolling and equal Sir Bobby’s record of 249 goals.

Anthony Martial extended the lead with a sumptuous finish into the far corner before Marcus Rashford completed the rout with a brace, the last as the result of an Ali Al-Habsi howler.

The victory was United’s eighth win on the bounce, their best run for eight years despite Jose Mourinho making nine changes to the side that defeated West Ham United in the Premier League.

Rooney equals Charlton record. It’s been a long time coming for Rooney, who scored his first goals for United with a hat-trick against Fenerbahce nine years ago now. He can break the record properly in the League Cup semi-final first leg against Hull City in midweek, or Liverpool in the league next weekend, but how many will he score? He is no longer a starter for United and may have to fill his boots before the season is out, as there's no guarantee he will be at United for 2017-18.

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United): Scored the first to equal Sir Bobby’s record and set up the second for Martial. An assured all-round performance.

Man Utd: Romero 7, Young 5, Smalling 6, Rojo 6, Blind 6, Fellaini 6, Carrick 7, Mata 7, Rooney 9, Martial 7, Rashford 8. Subs: Fosu-Mensah 6, Jones 6, Schweinsteiger 6.

Reading: Al-Habsi 6, Gunter 6, Blackett 6, Moore 6, Van den Berg 7, Evans 6, Williams 6, Kelly 7, Beerens 6, McCleary 6, Kermorgant 6. Subs: Swift 6, Obita 6, Samuel 6.

7’ – GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Reading: And it’s the record equaller that everyone has been waiting for. The goal that puts Rooney level with Bobby Charlton. Lovely work from Martial and he cuts it back for Mata to flick into Rooney, who almost knees it into goal. Bobby watches on and applauds. 249 goals apiece.

15’ – GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Reading: Beautifully done by Martial, who passes the ball almost nonchalantly into the corner of the goal. Reading defence all over the shop.

75’ – GOAL! Manchester United 3-0 Reading: It’s Marcus Rashford’s first goal since September, latching onto Carrick’s superb pass and slotting home past Al-Habsi.

79’ – GOAL! Manchester United 4-0 Reading: A disaster for Al-Habsi, who miskicks the ball straight to Rashford, who makes no mistake. Absolute comedy moment!

Wayne Rooney equals Bobby Charlton as all-time top scorer for Manchester United. Both players scored 249 goals in all competitions. Charlton needed 758 matches to score these 249 goals while Rooney needed 543.

Marcus Rashford scored his first goal since September.

Reading’s last win over Manchester United in the FA Cup dates back to 1927, drawing two and losing six of their eight meetings since.

The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last 25 FA Cup meetings with second-tier sides (W21 D4), last suffering defeat in 1981/82 against Watford.