DAVID Beckham described Wayne Rooney as among the world’s best as Manchester United put his AC Milan side out of the Champions League at Old Trafford last night.
Rooney scored twice as United cruised to a 4-0 last-16 second-leg win to secure a 7-2 aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals as Beckham’s return to Old Trafford ended in defeat. Park Ji-sung made it 3-0 for United before Darren Fletcher headed a fourth near the end.
“He’s an exceptional talent,” said Beckham. “He’s one of the best, if not the best, player at the moment along with (Cristiano) Ronaldo and (Lionel) Messi.”
Beckham entered the fray midway through the second-half, coming off the substitutes’ bench to a standing ovation. But the contest was already over.
“It was a disappointing night because we lost the game but returning here is always special,” added Beckham. “It was unbelievable. It was really incredible. It was a disappointing night but nice to be back.”
Rooney has now scored 30 goals this season and could overtake the tally of 42 achieved by Ronaldo – now at eliminated Real Madrid – in the 2007-2008 season.
“It’s a challenge,” said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. “I was happy with him getting to the 30 mark. But he just keeps improving and tonight he was sensational.”
Milan simply could not live with United, Ferguson said.
“It was a marvellous second-half performance,” he added. “We played very, very well.”
Real Madrid’s dreams of a Champions League final at their Bernabeu home were crushed by Lyon last night as the Spanish giants were knocked out at the last-16 stage for the sixth successive season.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s seventh Champions League goal of the season gave Madrid the perfect early start as he netted after just six minutes to level up the aggregate scores at 1-1.
However, Madrid failed to make the most of a host of first-half chances and Miralem Pjanic smashed home a 75th-minute equaliser for Lyon to send Real crashing out.