Wayne Rooney congratulates team-mate Juan Mata on 'great goals' as Manchester United move five points clear of Liverpool

Wayne Rooney and his Manchester United team-mates were celebrating on Sunday night after they beat Liverpool to move five points clear of their rivals in the race for Champions League football.

Juan Mata scored both goals, and captain Rooney took to Twitter to congratulate his team-mate on his 'great goals'.

The England skipper also admitted that he should have let Mata take United's penalty, which would have secured his hat-trick on an impressive afternoon at Anfield.

'Very happy tonight,' Rooney said on Twitter. 'Fans were amazing. @juanmata8 great goals. Should of [sic] let him take penalty. And the United fan in the kop. Brilliant.'

The 29-year-old's comment about a United fan in the Kop refers to pictures appearing to show a rogue away supporter spotted holding a Manchester United scarf aloft among Liverpool's most staunch fans.

An image appearing to show the man sticking his tongue out during the home fans' rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone' circulated widely on Twitter.

However, it later emerged that Rooney, like many others, was actually the victim of a Photoshop hoax.