Greenwood’s teenage kicks – Man United talent breaks Rooney record
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Mason Greenwood’s strike against Aston Villa on Sunday saw him surpass Wayne Rooney to set a new record for the most Premier League goals scored as a teenager for Manchester United.
Greenwood put United 2-1 up shortly after Bruno Fernandes levelled with a penalty, the 19-year-old receiving a pass from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and spinning away from Tyrone Mings in one movement before finding the bottom-right corner. United went on to win 3-1.
It was the 16th Premier League goal of his career, having got his first in November 2019 shortly after turning 18.
As such, Greenwood surpassed Rooney’s haul of 15 goals scored for United as a teenager.
Greenwood could yet extend his record considerably as well, given he does not turn 20 until October.
He has largely struggled to reach the same heights as last term when he scored 10 times in the Premier League, however the England international has hit a purple patch since the start of April.
Greenwood now has five Premier League goals in that time, a tally that no player can better. It took him 29 league outings to score his previous five in the competition.
It was the kind of form that had Greenwood’s 2019-20 looking even more remarkable, given his 10 goals came from an xG (expected goals) value of just 2.9.
No one in the Premier League had a better xG overperformance last term, suggesting his finishing was either spectacularly clinical or he was getting lucky an abnormal amount.
While it seems it was a blend of both, his recent showings suggest Greenwood’s got his career back on track after a bit of a wobble.