It came off his knee. In the pantheon of Wayne Rooney’s great goals, it will not rank highly among the 249 he has now scored for Manchester United.
Compare it to his stunning overhead kick against Manchester City, the audacious effort from halfway at West Ham, the blockbusting volley against Newcastle or any one of a multitude of memorable strikes over more than a dozen years and 543 appearances, and it wouldn’t merit a mention under normal circumstances.
But when Rooney glanced the ball past Ali Al Habsi with an unorthodox finish in the sixth minute, his place in United folklore was assured.