Manchester United's Rooney and Hernandez are unstoppable: Phil Jones

Manchester United new-boy Phil Jones believes that it is hard to defend against the ‘unstoppable’ duo of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.

The duo shared the 5 goals that United scored against Bolton on Saturday on their first start as a pair in the new season. Jones, who was playing against his new teammates last season with Blackburn Rovers, admits his admiration for the strikers.

“It is impossible to defend against Wayne and Javier at times. Their movement is phenomenal. It is a struggle for defenders to cope with it.”

The 19 year old could have scored one himself against Bolton when his run left the Bolton defenders off-guarded. After playing a delightful 1-2 with Nani, Jones made his way to the Bolton penalty box, beating three defenders on his way before taking up a shot that was deflected away by goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelinen. The deflected shot however landed straight into Wayne Rooney’s feet who made no mistake in slotting the ball home from a close range.

“It would have been a wonder goal. Wayne asked me in the changing room afterwards why I hadn’t pulled it back but I have not scored in the Premier League before.”

Like his England U21 teammate Chris Smalling last season, Jones has enjoyed a decent number of outings so far for the premier league champions in the absence of injured Nemanja Vidic and Rafael. Dubbed by many as “the buy of the season”, Jones believes that he has improved since joining Manchester United over the summer.

“I didn’t expect to be playing so often quite so quickly but that is football. When you get your chance you have to take it. Hopefully I have shown the manager what I can do.

“I definitely feel I have improved since joining United. How quickly they move the ball is different class. Having the opportunity to play with this kind of team-mate is bound to make me better.”

Jones is expected to feature against Benfica when the Red Devils will travel to Portugal to face Jorge Jesus’ men on Wednesday night. The sturdy defender revealed that he is excited to make his debut Champions League appearance at the Estadio da Luz.

“I’m looking forward to it. It is one of the main reasons why I came to Manchester United – to play Champions League football and test my ability against some of the best players in the world. If I get picked, I’ll look forward to the challenge.”