Wayne Rooney has already set his sights on becoming Manchester United’s outright top goalscorer after equalling the record in their 4-0 FA Cup victory over Reading on Saturday.
Rooney joined Bobby Charlton on 249 club goals with his seventh-minute opener in the third round tie against the Championship side at Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial slotted his sixth goal of the season into the bottom right corner to double the lead eight minutes later before Marcus Rashford’s second-half double sealed a comfortable victory.
“It’s a proud moment to do so at such a massive club like Manchester United,” Rooney told BT Sport 1.
“I’m hugely honoured to be able to play for this football club but to be up there in terms of goals with Sir Bobby, it’s a really proud moment for me and hopefully I’ll be out there on my own soon.
“But I’ll enjoy today because it’s a real honour.”
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United manager Jose Mourinho is also keen for Rooney to break the record, preferably with a strike in an important game.
“It’s amazing but I want one more goal and I want a very important one, a last-minute goal, something really important for us because he is an amazing guy in the group and we all want him to do that,” Mourinho said.
“Obviously, Sir Bobby Charlton is Sir Bobby Charlton but to have Wayne as the top-scorer in the history of such a big club is something magnificent for him.”
Rooney has won five Premier League titles, two League Cups, last season’s FA Cup, the 2007/08 Uefa Champions League and the 2008 Club World Cup.
He was voted the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in 2010.
Rooney was named United captain by former manager Louis van Gaal in July 2014 and was given the England captaincy by then manager Roy Hodgson a month later.
But he has lost his place in United’s starting XI following Mourinho’s arrival as manager and has had to make do with occasional starts in the cup competitions of late.
Rooney’s first chance to break the record will come, if selected, against Hull City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-finals at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
FA Cup round-up
Bournemouth, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, Everton and Swansea City were the five Premier League sides to be eliminated from the FA Cup at the third round stage.
Bournemouth were the victims of the biggest upset of the day’s action as they were beaten 3-0 at League One side Millwall.
Goals from Helder Costa and Matt Doherty gave Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers a 2-0 triumph at Stoke City.
West Brom also went out to Championship opposition in the shape of Derby County, going down 2-1 despite leading at half time.
Two goals from Ahmed Musa gave Premier League champions Leicester City a 2-1 success at Everton, the 1995 FA Cup winners, at Goodison Park.
That was one of three all Premier League ties, with bottom side Hull City getting the better of Swansea City 2-0.
It was Marco Silva’s first match in charge since replacing Mike Phelan in midweek in the Hull hotseat, and his side had to be patient as it took until the 78th minute to break the deadlock as Abel Hernandez netted, with Josh Tymon adding a second in stoppage time.
Sunderland and Burnley played out a goalless draw and will meet again at Turf Moor the week after next in the replay. Southampton will also face a replay after a stoppage time goal from Steven Naismith earned Norwich City a 2-2 draw. Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Maya Yoshida had twice put Southampton ahead at Carrow Road, sandwiching a Steven Whittaker penalty.
Watford put their slump in league form to one side as they proved too good for the Championship’s Burton Albion as they prevailed 2-0 at Vicarage Road.
* Agencies
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