Rooney's hat trick help United beat Bolton

Talented striker Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick to end a 10-match drought to lead Manchester United to a 4-0 Premier League victory against Bolton.

It's great to know that Rooney’s goals were his first for club or country since he scored twice in United’s season-opening 5-1 win over Fulham on August 20.

“I think there has been a lot of talk by a lot of people over the last few weeks saying I couldn’t do it any more, stuff like that, so the feeling when the first goal went in was brilliant. To finish the hat-trick was nice. I am really happy just to be back among the goals again and to have secured the three points in what was a big match for us.”

Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo got the other goal as United stayed top of the league with 25 points, leading champion Chelsea on goal difference.

Now, Bolton is third with 20 points, followed by Portsmouth on 19 and Arsenal on 18.

“Chelsea FC have laid down a marker but we want to challenge them,” Manchester United bossman, Sir Alex Ferguson, said. “There is a growing confidence within the club, we are looking very strong and we will have a great go.”

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring in the 10th minute from a cross by Michael Carrick and made it 2-0 six minutes later when he curled the ball into the corner of the net beyond the reach of keeper Jaaskelainen.

And Cristiano Ronaldo scored before Rooney completed the scoring in the 89th from a cross by Darren Fletcher.

“Apart from the third goal, there was very little we could do to stop him,” Bolton coach Sam Allardyce claims. “The first two were magnificent goals made of outstanding quality.”

For the records, it was the second hat-trick in the 21-year-old Rooney’s career. His first was two years ago on his Champions League debut against Fenerbahce.

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Manchester United and Liverpool will heath up the Premiership

The Old Trafford stadium will host the biggest game of the weekend in the English Premiership. Indeed, first place Manchester United face their first true test of the season against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. Ferguson's team, top on goal difference from champions Chelsea, have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and made it three wins out of three in the Champions League in midweek.

We must consider that with Wayne Rooney looking more like his old self, United should be at full strength, with Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand likely to return after missing the win over FC Copenhagen.

But though their start has been impressive, they have played just two teams in the top half of the table. Liverpool, on the other hand, have made a faltering start with just 11 points from their first eight clashes, and their away record has been really bad.

But a 1-0 midweek win in Bordeaux will have lifted their confidence and defender Sami Hyypia is convinced that Liverpool have turned a corner.

"Sometimes you need to go back to basics and make it the main objective not to allow the opposition to score," the Finn admitted.

"This was an example of that, to make sure we get the defending right and then take whatever opportunity came our way.

"We know it is a big game and how important it is for the fans.

"I know we're a long way from the top, so it's even more important, but you never want to take extra pressure into a game like this. We're not going to go there thinking we must not lose. We go into every match thinking we want to win."

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United is after Nani

Manchester United are eyeing a move for Sporting Lisbon new talent Nani - but have been warned he is not for sale in January's transfer window.

The British club swooped to take Cristiano Ronaldo from the same club for £12.25million in 2003.

And now boss Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant Carlos Queiroz has identified the 19-year-old Nani as another potential top star of the future.

The right-sided midfield footballer was a key figure in Sporting's second-place finish in the league last season and has already netted three times in six games this term.

He is contracted to the Lisbon outfit until 2008 and his club want to extend it by two or three years, while also eager to insert a clause stating that he cannot be sold for less than £17.5million during that period.

Sporting president Filipe Soares told The Manchester Evening News: "Nani is not for sale today - and neither in the winter market. At this moment we are not interested in any business."

Nani himself is fired up by the interest from United and wants to move at some point.

"If I leave at any time it would be to go to a great team. I am young and very ambitious," he expressed.

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