Hughes: Stoke stunned by Rooney’s magic

Mark Hughes admitted he could only doff his cap to a moment of magic as Wayne Rooney’s stunning free-kick denied Stoke City all three points against Manchester United.

The Potters had been leading heading into injury time, but that was before Rooney stepped up to the plate to curl home his 250th goal in United colours, becoming the side’s top scorer in the process.

That, coupled with five minutes of added time at the end of the game, proved a bitter pill to swallow for Hughes, denied a third straight Premier League victory and a chance to solidify their place in the top half.

(Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“When you get to the 94th minute and you are winning and only end up taking a point away from the game then of course it is bitterly disappointing,” said Hughes, a former Manchester City manager.

“I’m not quite sure where the officials got five minutes of additional time from in the first place to be perfectly honest, but there we go.

“At the end of the day though, top players, like Wayne, can produce moments like that, and once the free-kick was given we knew he had the capacity to stand up and find the top corner of the net.

“There was nothing we could do about it to be perfectly honest, we were lined up perfectly, Lee Grant was positioned correctly, so you just have to take your hat off to the boy, who has been outstanding all through his career to be fair – which is why he has the record now.

“That still doesn’t make it any easier to take at this moment in time because it was hard on the guys, who put an almighty shift in out on the field today, and did themselves, myself and the supporters incredibly proud.”