It was, however, Rooney that broke the deadlock in style. As Shield United struggled to clear their lines, the ball fell invitingly to Rooney 25 yards out. His first time strike was whipped beyond ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and into the bottom corner.
The likes of Gareth Bale, Steven Gerrard and Didier Drogba joined in the celebrations, but it was the team of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Carles Puyol and Alessandro Nesta that emerged victorious - with Maicon and Jooho Park on target for Shield United.