If you were to think back to some of the most spectacular goals scored in Premier League history, you wouldn’t get past no. 3 or no. 4 on the list before Wayne Rooney’s famous volley against Newcastle United.
[ MORE: On this Day in Premier League history ]
On this day in 2005, a 19-year-old new boy at Manchester United, Rooney announced himself onto an even grander stage a few years after scoring his first, and equally, iconic goal — a stunning curler against Arsenal as a 16-year-old for Everton in 2002.
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Up to the point of April 24, 2005, Rooney certainly hadn’t been a bust at Man United — far from it, as he finished his first season with 11 league goals (including this one) — but this was the moment that saw him ascend from productive youngster with a bright future and arrive as an international superstar at this very moment.
#OnThisDay in 2005, a teenage @WayneRooney scored one of the most memorable goals in #BPL history...https://t.co/Wb7detTzbO
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 24, 2015
Rooney would, of course, go on to score 253 goals for United (all competitions) and leave Old Trafford as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer in 2017 — but few, if any, were more outstanding than the one he scored on this day in 2005.
