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Rooney equals Charlton's record in Reading win

Cape Town - Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney equalled Bobby Charlton's record of 249 goals when he struck against Reading in Saturday's 4-0 FA Cup third round victory.

Manchester United exposed Reading's clear defensive vulnerabilities from the first whistle with Rooney forcing a save out of Ali Al-Habsi in the second minute.

He made it 1-0 in the seventh minute when Juan Mata's clipped cross found the forward who deflected it in with his knee.

It was all United in the first 20 minutes and Anthony Martial would grab the second after a neat one-two with Rooney in the 15th minute. He ran into the box and neatly side-footed the ball home to make it 2-0.

Reading responded well and Liam Moore perhaps should have scored in the 25th minute when he nearly got a touch on Joey van den Berg's scuffed shot from the left, with the goal at his mercy.

Marcus Rashford then had a glaring miss in the 25th minute when he ran through on goal in one-on-one situation with Al-Habsi. After rounding the keeper on the right, he only managed to find the side-netting.

The young forward later tested the Oman shot-stopper with a powerful effort in the 34th minute.

The Royals were all at sea defensively and Martial missed another great chance for the home side when he blasted Rashford's cross from the right high and wide despite having just the keeper to beat from inside six yards.

After the break, United continued to be wasteful, with Rooney missing a sitter in the 55th minute. After Al-Habsi spilled Marouane Fellaini's shot, he shot straight at the prone goalkeeper from two yards out.

Jaap Stam's men were offering virtually nothing in attack and Rashford would make the game safe when he got on the end of Michael Carrick's pin-point pass, ran through on goal and placed the ball past Al-Habsi into the back of the net in the 75th minute.

Soon after he got his brace, as a blunder from Reading's number one gifted the 19-year-old a goal.

Fellaini then missed yet another great chance from close range, although credit must be given to Al-Habsi for making a smart save with his left hand.

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