Wayne Rooney scored an early double as Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the Premiership on Sunday. Manchester tightened their grip on second spot on 60 points, but still a massive 15-point distance adrift of runaway leaders Chelsea. Newcastle remained 12th on 39 points with nine matches to go. Rooney opened the score line as early as the eighth minute when he scuffed a loose ball after a poor pass from defender Peter Ramage and chipped the past keeper Shay Given. Four minutes later, the England striker doubled the lead when he received a neat pass on the edge of the area before firing a bullet into the back of the net.
