Wayne Rooney's Top 10 Individual Performances for Manchester United

When you talk about a club like Manchester United, there is bound to be some rich history involved—especially with the list of players that have donned the red jersey.

Names like Sir Bobby Charlton, Steve Bruce and David Beckham all pop up when discussing the most prolific United players, but it's time we added another name to that list.

Wayne Rooney.

The English striker is now as critical to the success of United as any other player in years gone by and must be recognized as one of the Red Devils' greatest players due to the sheer number of incredible performances he's put in for the club.

Here's just 10 of them; a list that could be much longer than this.

So without further ado, Wayne Rooney's top 10 individual performances for Manchester United.

No. 10: Rooney Inspires Incredible Win vs. Tottenham

Kicking off our list is Rooney's inspired performance against Tottenham Hotspur in 2009.

Trailing 2-0 at half time, Rooney inspired the Red Devils' second-half fightback by scoring two goals, setting up two as well as providing an assist that led to a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty as United came back to win the match 5-2.

Rooney commented after the match:

"

What a game! To win 5-2 from losing 2-0 is pure class...

"

No. 9: Rooney's Incredible Goal vs. Newcastle

United were struggling at home against Newcastle—trailing 1-0 with little over half an hour to play.

Enter Wayne Rooney, whose stunning volley brought the Red Devils back on level terms before Wes Brown's winner would give United a 2-1 win.

Not only one of the goals of the decade, but given the context of the match as well, it must go down as one of Wayne Rooney's greatest performances.

No. 8: Rooney Nets Back-to-Back Hat-Tricks

A match that all United fans will remember for a long time is the 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal in August 2011.

Rooney netted a hat-trick in that game, and then bagged another triple in his next match—a 5-0 demolition of Bolton.

What made this period particularly special was that Rooney became just the fourth player to score back-to-back Premier League hat-tricks, joining other big-named strikers Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright and Didier Drogba on the list.

No. 7: Rooney Drags United out of Trouble Again

Only this year, United were trailing 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the second half before Wayne Rooney netted two penalties and dragged the Red Devils back to 3-3 at full time—giving them valuable points for the Premier League race.

Rooney's performance needs mentioning in his greatest of all time because of the significance that it could have—and already has had—on United's chances of taking the title.

Heading into the clash, United were trailing City and appeared unlikely to be able to run down the Citizens and had they dropped points, they would have fallen further behind.

Instead, with the draw, the Red Devils have gone on to win seven straight and take the lead on top of the table by five points.

Whether or not they would have done so without a draw against Chelsea we will never know, but it must go down as a significant moment in the life and story of Wayne Rooney and Manchester United.

No. 6: Rooney Shines in League Cup Final

In 2006, Rooney picked up his first title with Manchester United as the Red Devils beat Wigan Athletic 4-0 in the final of the League Cup.

Rooney scored the opening goal of the match, as well as the final goal of the match, to secure the man of the match award in a cup final for Manchester United.

A truly excellent performance.

No. 5: Rooney's Cool Head Prevails Again

Sometimes it doesn't have to be the spectacular goals or the number of goals, but rather the significance of the goals that make a memorable performance.

Needing a draw to win the English Premier League, Wayne Rooney's penalty against Blackburn gave Manchester United their 19th title.

Rooney's level head and ability not to let the big stage get the better of him has always been one of his strongest characteristics, and it was most certainly on show again in this match.

No. 4: Rooney's Cool Head Prevails in a Different Way

Starting to develop a habit of scoring in big matches, Rooney's winning goal against Aston Villa in the 2010 Carling Cup stands as one of his finest moments for Manchester United.

Coming off the bench for Michael Owen, Wayne's header with 15 minutes to play was enough to give United a 2-1 win and another item of silverware for the cupboard.

No. 3: Rooney Excels in Debut for Red Devils

Whenever you do something for the first time, you want to make a good impression.

Whether it's meeting the parents, your first day at work or your opening day playing for Manchester United, you want to make a solid impression and prove that you're worth it.

How about a hat-trick against against Fenerbache in the Champions League?

Will that do?

No.2: Rooney Becomes the King of Manchester

When you play for Manchester United, there are a few simple rules that you have to follow—beat both Liverpool and Manchester City.

With City and United locked at 3-3 on aggregate deep in stoppage time in the semi-final of the 2010 Carling Cup, you can imagine what would happen if United grabbed the winning goal.

Enter Wayne Rooney.

Old Trafford goes berserk.

No.1: Rooney Scores THAT Goal

As mentioned before, one of your main jobs when playing for Manchester United is to make sure that you don't fall to cross-town rivals Manchester City.

So Rooney decided to score a goal like this to win the match.

Makes sense I guess.

Sir Alex Ferguson described it as the greatest goal that he has ever seen and according to Rooney:

"

It's definitely the best goal I've scored...

"

So there you have it—the top 10 performances by Wayne Rooney for Manchester United.

Some earned their place through their significance; others through their incredible skill.

One thing is for certain though: Wayne Rooney is not finished with the Red Devils and you can guarantee that there will be moments like these for many years to come.

Glory, Glory Man United!

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