As a late substitute, Wayne Rooney did a phenomenal job: scoring two goals to lead Manchester United to a victory against Gamba Osaka in a 5-3 semifinal match in Yokohama. The win secures a Club World Cup final meeting between United and Liga de Quito.

During the first half, United imposed their will against Gamba behind two headers from Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the entry of Rooney led to a frenetic action in the form of six goals in 18 minutes. Aside from scoring two goals, the English striker inspired the red men to pacify a relentless Gamba squad.

Upon Rooney’s entry to the field, Gamba scored through Masato Yamazaki. But it proved to be futile, because what followed were a series of unstoppable attacks from Rooney, Sota Nakazawa, and Giggs.

Just before the final whistle, Hideo Hashimoto scored a goal, but it was already too late.

In a post-game statement, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has good things to say about Osaka. “The people got their money's worth, that's for sure. Their movement on the ball was very good and it shows you much Japanese football has improved.”
 

Premier League club Blackburn Rovers has selected a new manager: Sam Allardyce. The Englishman has signed a three-year deal with struggling Rovers.

The move came swiftly after the club booted Paul Ince, last Wednesday. After that, Blackburn immediately set their eyes on the former Bolton and Newcastle manager who has been out of work since leaving Newcastle last January. 

“Blackburn Rovers are delighted to announce the appointment of Sam Allardyce as manager with immediate effect. Sam has signed a three-year contract,” asserted a club representative in a press release.

Allardyce will officially debut as the new manager on Thursday during a press conference to be held at Ewood Park. The Rovers are currently second-to-the-last in the Premiere League standings—something they hope Allardyce can help change. 

 

In the Premier League, Tottenham preserved its streak under the team‘s new manager Harry Redknapp as the team took the match 2-0 against West Ham.

The first goal was scored by King, who hasn’t scored since December 2005. The next successful kick came from a long-range strike by Jamie O’ Hara. The match takes the Spurs atop West Ham in the Premier League standings.

Both teams had chances in an evenly matched first half—most notably Roman Pavlyuchenko who extended to meet a low cross from Lennon to push the ball to the far post.  Coincidentally, Lennon opened the first goal during the 68th minute.

As the minutes drew to a close, Tottenham secured the victory with a stunning strike from O’hara.
 

Both Chelsea and Manchester United won their respective FA Cup replays to book their places in the semifinals of the tournament. However Chelsea's victory sparked a security nightmare when a fan ran onto the pitch to Frank Lampard who was celebrating his side's win.