Wayne Rooney came to the rescue as Manchester United beat South American champions Liga de Quito 1-0 Sunday to win the Club World Cup and lift one of the few trophies to have eluded them.
The England striker pounced in the 73rd minute after being set up by Cristiano Ronaldo, with United rallying to victory after Nemanja Vidic was needlessly sent off for a deliberate elbow early in the second half.
His goal gave them an unprecedented treble this year, with the English and European champions now able to call themselves world champions, helping silence those who have criticised the long trip here.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men also became the first British team to win the tournament, putting them alongside Italy's AC Milan and Brazil's Internacional and Sao Paulo.
"I'm very happy because we won this with 10 men," said Rooney. "To be crowned the best in the world is a great achievement. We are all very proud because we've worked hard.
"To score the winning goal in a match like this is a great feeling for me personally."
Conscious that he needs fresh legs for Stoke City on Friday, Ferguson made a number of changes to the side that beat Gamba Osaka on Thursday, with Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nani relegated to the bench.
On a windy night, Ronaldo was clearly a marked man and was heavily tackled twice in the opening minutes as the Ecuadorians made their intentions clear.
It was Liga who created the first chance, almost taking the lead on four minutes when Jairo Campos beat the offside trap from a freekick but fluffed his shot.
United though soon found their feet and Rooney chested down a through ball from Vidic just inside the box on 10 minutes and unleashed a fierce shot that goalkeeper Jose Cevallos did well to punch away.
He tested Cevallos again minutes later when he sent another powerful drive towards goal which the keeper deflected for a corner.
Guess their ego will be huge, huh???
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