A Dazzling Goal, and Rooney Is King of All Manchester

Wayne Rooney scored on a spectacular overhead kick on Saturday as Manchester United beat its crosstown rival Manchester City, 2-1, at Old Trafford and strengthened its grip at the top of England's Premier League.

With his back to the goal in the 77th minute, Rooney met a deflected cross from Nani with a perfectly timed right-foot strike that flew into the top corner as City goalkeeper Joe Hart stood motionless.

Asked if it was the best goal of his career, Rooney told Sky Sports: "I think so, yeah. I saw it coming over and I thought, Why not? Nine times out of 10 they go into the stand." United Manager Alex Ferguson said he had never seen a better goal at Old Trafford.

"It was stunning," Ferguson said. "We've had some fantastic goals here, but in terms of execution, you'll never see that."

Nani had given United the lead in the 40th minute when he controlled Ryan Giggs's first-time pass and rolled a shot past Hart. City tied the score after 64 minutes when Shaun Wright-Phillips sent a cross to the substitute Edin Dzeko, whose shot went in off David Silva's back.

But few were talking about either goal after seeing Rooney's winner. City Manager Roberto Mancini called it a "moment of genius."

"When a fantastic player like Rooney scores a goal like that, you should clap," he said.

In other games, Arsenal beat Wolverhampton, 2-0, to send Wolves back to the bottom of the standings a week after they beat Manchester United. The loss by Wolves lifted West Ham, which rallied from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at West Bromwich, out of last place. Wigan put the brakes on Liverpool's recent revival with a 1-1 draw at Anfield, and midfielder Michael Bradley made his debut for Aston Villa in a 1-1 tie with Blackpool. Bradley, the son of United States Coach Bob Bradley, entered in the 73rd minute.