Roon: "Scholes is genius"
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ByEurosport
Published 24/04/2007 at 21:53 GMT
Wayne Rooney labelled team-mate Paul Scholes a "genius" after the midfielder's inspired through ball set Manchester United on their way to a thrilling 3-2 victory over Milan in the Champions League first leg semi-final on Tuesday.
FOOTBALL 2006-2007 Champions League Wayne Rooney Darren Fletcher Paul Scholes Manchester United celebrate v Milan semi-final first leg old trafford
Image credit: Reuters
United were trailing 2-1 at Old Trafford before Scholes' superbly improvised scoop over the Milan defence sent Rooney in on goal to net the equaliser, leaving the 21-year-old with nothing but praise for the veteran midfielder.
Rooney told ITV after the game: "I see him do it every day in training. He's brilliant. He is a joy to play with, a genius."
The England striker, who also netted the winner in injury time to give United a slight advantage ahead of next week's second leg, toiled hard all night long and knows his second goal could prove extremely important in deciding the outcome of the tie.
"It's a great feeling. It was a difficult match but when it got late we kept going. We knew the victory would make it a little bit easier for the away leg.
"And to get a goal in the last minute is a great feeling.
"It was fantastic. At 2-1 behind at half-time against a very good Milan team, we knew it would be difficult to get the win. The manager told us too keep pushing, keep going and we'll get the goals, and we did."
Manager Alex Ferguson was full of praise for Rooney and in particular his winning goal.
"It was an incredible hit," he said. "He didn't take a touch on it, just hit it first time. It was a brilliant goal.
"On an occasion like tonight, we needed our big players to hit the heights."
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