Rooney joins United 200 club

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring against Bayer Leverkusen during their Champions League soccer match at Old Trafford in Manchester, northern England Sept 17, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

MANCHESTER, England - Wayne Rooney reached the 200-goal mark for Manchester United by scoring twice in a 4-2 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday, giving manager David Moyes the perfect introduction to life in the Champions League.

Free from the uncertainty of the offseason when he was constantly linked with a move to Chelsea, Rooney was the star at Old Trafford after opening the scoring in the 22nd minute, grabbing United's crucial third and then setting up Antonio Valencia to complete an impressive Group A victory.

"I've concentrated on working hard to get my head down, to get myself fit and ready for the season," Rooney said. "I'm delighted with the way I've come back and delighted I'm back playing and scoring goals.

"It's great the reception I get here and hopefully I can repay (the fans) with performances and goals like tonight."

Simon Rolfes equalized against the run of play for Leverkusen in the 54th, but Robin van Persie regained the lead for United five minutes later before his strike partner came into his own.

Omer Toprak poked in a close-range consolation in the 88th for Leverkusen, which failed to reproduce the form it has shown so far in the Bundesliga where the team has won four matches out of five.

Leverkusen hadn't come up against such a potent combination as Rooney and Van Persie, though.

"It looks so easy the way he is playing," Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia said of Rooney. "He is still scoring goals and he will continue to score them."

Moyes was taking charge of his first group-stage match in the Champions League and saw his team hit the ground running in its record 18th straight season in Europe's top competition, producing a performance that was much improved from its underwhelming start to the Premier League.

The margin of victory should have been even larger, with Rooney and Van Persie both missing open goals. Van Persie's effort was particularly remarkable, sidefooting wide from barely a yard out.

Rooney can still look back with much fondness on an evening when he reached another scoring milestone for United. Only three other players _ Bobby Charlton (249), Denis Law (237) and Jack Rowley (211) have scored more than 200 goals for the club and Rooney is still only 27.

Wearing a thick headband to cover a deep gash to his forehead sustained in training 2 weeks ago, the England striker looked sharp and full of running in the hole behind Van Persie, underlining just why United fought so hard to keep him this summer.

"If we are going to win the Champions League, we need to have several world-class players and Wayne comes into that category," Moyes said. "I remember coming here and saying he has the chance to become one of the all-time leading goal scorers at this club. If he keeps playing like he did tonight, he'll get there."