The long wait is over for the Manchester United faithful as Wayne Rooney brought up his 250th goal for the Red Devils with a thumping free-kick. The United skipper, with his effort, went past Sir Bobby Charlton’s record and now sits on top of the goalscoring charts for the 20-time English champions.

The timing of the goal was also significant as Stoke City were on the brink of grabbing three points, thanks to some remarkable defending from Ryan Shawcross and Co. United’s rivals, Liverpool, though, suffered a torrid evening and saw their title hopes nosedive with a 2-3 loss against struggling Swansea City.

It is no surprise that West Ham United’s revival has coincided with Andy Carroll’s return from injury. The gangly Englishman was on target as the Hammers beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at the Riverside. Meanwhile, Seamus Coleman scored the only goal of the game as Everton beat Crystal Palace, whose troubles only deepened. West Bromwich Albion also registered three points courtesy of two wonder goals from Darren Fletcher and Chris Brunt respectively.

Rooney’s date with history

England and United skipper was looking sharp as his side desperately looked to get an equaliser after conceding an early goal. Stoke City, once again, proved to be tough opponents to beat for Jose Mourinho’s side.

The Stoke defence didn’t give away much and United resorted to taking shots from distance. A couple of them, most notably from Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard came close to opening the account for United.

Rooney’s free-kick to net goal No.250 came from a tight angle and the timing of it – deep into stoppage time was an ode to the Alex Ferguson reign.

Liverpool slump to defeat

The soft core of the Liverpool defence was once again exposed as Swansea’s chances of survival got a significant boost with a 3-2 win at Anfield.

Roberto Firminho scored two terrific goals. Swansea’s target-man Fernando Llorente netted a brace. The winner came from the mercurial Gylfi Siggurdson through a deflection. Winger Tom Carroll was hugely influential, setting up two of his side’s goals.

Brief Scores

  • Liverpool 2 (Roberto Firmino x 2) lose to Swansea City 3 (Fernando Llorente x 2, Gylfi Sigurdsson)
  • Bournemouth 2 (Joshua King, Benik Afobe) draw with Watford 2 (Christian Kabasele, Troy Deeney)
  • Crystal Palace 0 lose to Everton 1 (Seamus Coleman)
  • Middlesbrough 1 (Cristhian Stuani) lose to West Ham United 3 (Andy Carroll x 2, Jonathan Calleri)
  • Stoke City 1 (Juan Mata o.g) draw with Manchester United 1 (Wayne Rooney)
  • West Bromwich Albion 2 (Darren Fletcher, Chris Brunt) beat Sunderland 0