SEATTLE (Washington): Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick in the space of 21 minutes in the second half on Wednesday as Manchester United routed the Seattle Sounders 7-0 in a friendly.
Michael Owen set the tone in the 15th minute, beating former Premier League foe Kasey Keller with a header to open the scoring.
The score remained 1-0 at halftime largely thanks to a superb save by Sounders keeper Keller on Owen late in the half.
After the interval, however, the English Premier League giants took charge with the addition of second-half subs including Rooney, Park Ji-Sung and Mame Biram Diouf.
Diouf scored just four minutes after halftime.
Rooney scored in the 51st, 69th and 72nd minutes. Park squeezed in a goal in the 71st and Gabriel Obertan completed the scoring in the 88th.
The match was the second stop on United’s pre-season tour of North America.
They head to Chicago for a match against Seattle’s Major League Soccer Rivals the Chicago Fire on Saturday and will take on the MLS All-Stars at Red Bull Arena in New York next Wednesday.
United will wrap up their tour with a Champions League final rematch against Barcelona on July 30 in Washington.
Seattle, who are on a nine-game unbeaten streak in MLS matches, kept it close for a time, missing several scoring opportunities.
Rooney, roaming the pitch, found himself unmarked early in the second half when he took a pass from Nani and lofted a shot over backup Sounders keeper Terry Boss.
He was alone again when he received a pass from Park, turned and beat Boss with a left-foot shot.
Rooney capped his night by slotting home the ball in a scramble in front of the goal. (Agencies)