Manchester United crashed out of the Capital One Cup last night courtesy of a penalty-shootout defeat to Middlesbrough, and much of the blame was placed at the door of under-fire captain Wayne Rooney.
SEE MORE: (Video) Ashley Young misses penalty as Manchester United crash out of Capital One Cup
Rooney missed United’s first spot kick, but was it possible that he was distracted by a laser being shone from the stands? This video from Sky Sports arguably gives the England skipper a get-out-of-jail card.
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But there are no excuses for the recently-turned 30-year-old’s form during the early months of the season, at least according to United supporters as this Twitter reaction piece from talkSPORT suggests.
Rooney has scored six goals in 15 appearances for the Red Devils this season. Three of those goals came in a Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge – only two have come in the Premier League.
Louis van Gaal, who has knocked back criticism of the striker’s performances as The Guardian reports, called on Rooney from the bench at the break of the last-16 tie, which was still goalless after extra time.
Michael Carrick and Ashley Young also missed penalties for United as they lost the shootout 3-1 at Old Trafford, with the Championship promotion hopefuls rewarded with a quarter-final match at Everton.
The penalties were taken at the end housing the away fans, and while the Football Association have confirmed that they are looking into the laser incident, United may want to investigate Rooney’s form.
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