LONDON // There has been much debate over the years as to what Wayne Rooney’s best position is.
Many have argued the Manchester United man is most suited to the No 9 role, where he is able to concentrate on getting himself into goalscoring positions inside the opposition’s penalty box.
Others have contended that Rooney is wasted as the furthest man forward and performs better as a No 10, a position which allows him to create chances as well as finish them off.
Perhaps there is now another option on the table.
After impressing in the centre of midfield against a weakened Crystal Palace side in midweek, Rooney again starred in the United engine room in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final with Everton at Wembley, where he helped his team reach the final for the first time since 2007.
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It was nervier than it should have been for Louis van Gaal’s charges, who were utterly dominant in the first half but forced to dig in to secure a narrow victory in the second.
The match look destined for an additional 30 minutes until Anthony Martial curled the ball past Joel Robles in the last minute of injury time, brilliantly keeping his composure and picking his spot while 33,000 United fans waited with bated breath.
Everton were right to feel hard done by at the end, but they were perhaps fortunate to still be in the game after a dismal collective performance in the first period.
Although Romelu Lukaku twice broke in behind the United backline, poor control letting him down on both occasions, Everton spent most of the opening 45 minutes camped inside their own half.
United were slick and fluid going forward, the front three of Martial, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard combining to great effect as they interchanged and buzzed around the final third with confidence and intent.
Earlier in the campaign, the lack of pace and movement around Rooney was held up as an explanation for his disappointing displays.
That theory probably absolved the England international of too much of the blame, but the youthful vigour provided by United’s front three certainly aided him on this occasion.
Rooney benefited from more time on the ball as Martial, Rashford and Lingard pushed Everton’s back four closer to their own goal, while the trio’s runs in behind also gave him plenty of targets for passes over the top.
He took full advantage of the space he was afforded, pulling the strings in midfield as Marouane Fellaini drifted beyond him and Michael Carrick held his customary position in front of the defence.
It was Fellaini who opened the scoring 34 minutes, converting a pull back after excellent work down the left from Martial.
Everton were much improved after the interval and deservedly levelled through a Chris Smalling own goal, which came after David de Gea had superbly kept out Lukaku from the penalty spot.
The lack of mobility in the United midfield became a concern, Roberto Martinez’s men cutting through the Fellaini-Rooney-Carrick axis as they broke forward with speed.
Rooney still showed flashes of quality as United were made to retreat towards their own penalty area, though: his distribution was generally neat and tidy – only Lingard could better Rooney’s 92.9 per cent pass completion rate – and a couple of drives forward in possession helped to relieve the pressure on his defensive teammates as the clock ticked down.
The momentum appeared to be with Everton in the closing stages, and both managers must have already been formulating plans for an additional half-hour of play when the ball hit the back of the net with just a few seconds remaining.
Martial’s intervention immediately made such strategies redundant.
The question now is whether or not Van Gaal’s plan for next month’s final with Watford or Crystal Palace will again feature Rooney in midfield.
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