Rooney ends goal drought in style

(Reuters) - Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney ended his long goal drought with a hat-trick in their 4-0 Champions League qualifying rout of Club Bruges on Wednesday. The England captain had not scored since a Premier League game against Aston Villa in April, a run of 10 matches and 878 minutes without finding the net. Rooney netted his first goal of the season after 20 minutes with a neat finish, running on to a clever through ball from Memphis Depay. He doubled the lead four minutes after halftime following a flowing move and grabbed his third just before the hour in Belgium courtesy of a cute pass from Juan Mata. Ander Herrera added a fourth goal as United, 3-1 up after the first leg, eased through to the group stage of Europe's premier club competition 7-1 on aggregate. (Reporting by Ed Osmond; Editing by Greg Stutchbury and Pritha Sarkar)