Jose Mourinho inisisted that Wayne Rooney is an impact player both for him and Manchester United.
The England international was dropped to bench for United's Premier League clash on Saturday against Leicester City at Old Trafford. The Red Devils came back to winning ways after two successive league defeats with a dominating show against the defending champions.
Mourinho's men scored four times in the first half with three of them coming from corners. Stand-in captain Chris Smalling opened the scoring for the hosts in the 22nd minute of the game. Juan Mata doubled the lead in the 37th minute after which Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford added to Leicester's woes before the break.
Rooney replaced Rashford in the 83rd minute and played on the left of the front three after Leicester grabbed one back in the second half with a strike from Demarai Gray. Mourinho defended his decision to leave out his captain saying he wanted more pace out wide against the quick-breaking Foxes on Saturday.
"There is not a problem with Wayne Rooney. My captain is my captain whether he is on the pitch or at home. We won the game so he is happy," Mourinho was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
"You can only pick 11 men. If I leave out Rashford you ask me why. If I leave out Rooney you ask me why, but I cannot pick them all.
"I have a squad of players and I thought the best option against a quick-breaking side like Leicester was to play with two fast players out wide with Juan Mata in the middle."
The Portuguese tactician maintained that Saturday's performance was a template of what he is expecting from his players. He said he was happy with the way Pogba and Ander Herrera complemented each other in the midfield.
Pogba came up with one of his better performances of the ongoing season against Claudio Ranieri's side on Saturday. He looked in complete control and played a big part in United's stunning display at the end of the first half.
"The pair complement each other in midfield. Pogba still needs to be consistent, but you can say that about the team as a whole. I know Herrera from La Liga. He is a good player, I like him a lot," Mourinho added.
