#5 vs. Portsmouth, 27th January 2007
Scoff at the opposition all you want, but at the time, Portsmouth were a solid outfit – they finished 9th in the Premier League in 2006/07 and were giving United a run for their money here before Rooney’s introduction from the bench on the hour mark. He scored about 15 minutes later, tapping in from a Ryan Giggs pass, but it was his second goal that really lives in the memory.
Rooney collected a pass from Gary Neville and ran towards the edge of the box with purpose, before faking a heavy shot with his right foot. Portsmouth’s defence – and their goalkeeper David James – clearly weren’t expecting what happened next, as he hit a deft chip that flew high into the air and floated above the England keeper and into the top left-hand corner.
The vision, skill and accuracy of this one make it stand out within Rooney’s canon of goals. The striker was well-known for his pace and power but this was a more subtle finish – reminiscent of another great chip from a Manchester United legend – namely Eric Cantona against Sunderland about a decade earlier.
Portsmouth went on to score a consolation goal but ended up losing the game 2-1, and Rooney’s chip was definitely worthy of winning any FA Cup tie – even if United went on to lose the eventual final to Chelsea.
