Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney has equaled the European goal record set by Red Devils legend Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Rooney scored a consolation goal in the game against Fenerbahce as Man United continued their poor run. Jose Mourinho’s men lost 2-1 in an away game against the Turkish side in the Europa League on Thursday – November 3, 2016.

Rooney started the game in Istanbul after playing from the bench in the recent run of games. United had more of the possession during the affair but failed to do much with it. They rarely tested goalkeeper Volkan with their about 70% ball possession. They often allowed their hosts regain their defensive shape with their slow pace of football.
“Our problems started in our global attitude. They were playing the Champions League final, we were playing a summer friendly,” Mourinho aptly put it.

“They deserved to win, football is not just about quality, it is also about effort, commitments, playing the limits and giving everything. A team that concedes after two minutes is a team that is not ready, not mentally prepared, not focused, not concentrated,” the Portuguese tactician said, blasting the whole team’s effort after the game.

United marquee signing Paul Pogba picked up an injury in the game and had to be replaced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic – a player that has scored just once in 11 games. Henrikh Mkhitaryan made his first appearance since September but failed to impress. The only good thing from the game for United was the Rooney goal. The Three Lions skipper is two goals away from equaling Bobby Charlton’s record of 249 goals in all competitions for United.

Manchester United stand a risk of crashing out of the Europa League in the group stage. They place third with six games. Fenerbahce and Feyenoord have seven points each, and are joint group leaders.