Van Persie Reserves Special Praise for Recommitted Rooney

Robin van Persie was full of praise for strike partner Wayne Rooney after the pair combined to help Manchester United claim a 4-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in their Champions League group game.

United secured an impressive win over the Bundesliga giants as Rooney grabbed a brace, while Van Persie and Antonio Valencia were also on the scoresheet as David Moyes began his European campaign with three points.

Rooney caused the German's problems throughout with his movement and wonderful array of passes, and Van Persie is pleased that he is able to play alongside the England striker after a summer of speculation.

"Wayne played really well. I love to play with him as he can do everything, he can drop, he can go in behind, he can play the short and the long game. He did really well," Van Persie told the official Manchester United website.

Rooney had been heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford but he has excelled since once again committing to the club.

While the 27 year old remained at the club there was one new arrival in Marouane Fellaini who also caught the eye of Van Persie in his first European game for the club.

"Marouane did really well also," he added. "He was very solid and gets a lot of loose balls back. He's very confident and always tries to get the ball going forward."

United had struggled to create chances when losing to Liverpool in the Premier League earlier this season but Van Persie believes that the squad now have a new found confidence and that is why the goals are coming.

We were very confident on the ball tonight, everybody did their bit and we scored a couple of goals," explained Van Persie. "Everything starts with being confident on the ball and trying to look for that pass in front, that's what we did and that's why we scored."