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| August 06, 2006 | Sunday | Rajab 10, 1427 |
Rooney sees red again as United win
AMSTERDAM, Aug 5: Wayne Rooney's fragile temperament flared up again as he and Paul Scholes were both sent off as Manchester United beat Porto 3-1 in the opening game of Amsterdam Tournament on Friday.
Rooney, whose World Cup ended in shame with a red card for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho last month, was dismissed by Dutch referee Ruud Bossen for hitting defender Pepe with an arm to the face.
And the sending off could now result in a three-game Premiership suspension for the 20-year-old if the Dutch FA opt to report the incident to the Football Association.
Scholes, meanwhile, may escape with a one-match ban having been dismissed for two yellow cards.
Rooney had started the game in stunning fashion with a sublime goal to add to Scholes's opener early in the first-half.
However, for the third time in less than 12 months, Rooney failed to finish the game due to his inability to control his aggression on a football pitch.
The striker was sent off last September by referee Kim Milton Nielsen after sarcastically applauding the official during United's Champions League stalemate against Villarreal in Spain.
His World Cup red card was another instance of his petulance, but his latest dismissal merely highlighted the player's failure to learn from his mistakes.
His refusal to accept his frailties was evident after his red card here when he claimed he was surprised to be sent off.
If Rooney is hit with a three-match ban, United could start the season with just Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer available up-front.
With several of United's starting eleven having returned to footballing action as much as three weeks ago during the club's tour of South Africa, the Premiership team looked much sharper and fitter than Porto and Ferguson's team capitalised by racing into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes.
United, with $18.6m signing Michael Carrick making his debut alongside Scholes in midfield, were knocked out of the Champions League by Porto when the two clubs last met two years ago.
But a similar defeat never looked likely after Scholes had opened the scoring on 12 minutes with a typically well-taken goal from 20 yards.
Standing unmarked on the edge of the penalty area, Scholes received Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's corner and took a touch away from an on-rushing defender before beating goalkeeper Helton with a left-foot strike into the bottom corner.
Porto were gifted a chance to equalise when Wes Brown's sloppy back-pass was intercepted by Alan, but keeper Edwin van der Sar snuffed out the danger by racing out of his area to clear the ball.
And within sixty seconds, United had doubled their lead when Rooney scored another stunning goal after pouncing on a mistake by Bosingwa.
Solskjaer netted a third from a tight angle on 74 minutes before Pepe pulled one back for Porto.—AFP
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