WAYNE ROONEY HAS A MIXED RECORD when it comes to eloquence. With a football at his feet, the England striker is fluent and expressive, but after scoring Manchester United’s opening goal yesterday, an 18-certificate outburst from the 19-year-old was broadcast live on television. Sky was obliged to issue an apology for the fruity epithet, but it will live with the complaints as long as Rooney is as watchable as this.

After propelling his team into a 66th-minute lead, Rooney screamed “you ****ing beauty”. It was probably not uttered in self-reference, but it was his intervention, along with some typically haphazard defending from Newcastle United, that hoisted a humdrum team display into something more special. He has already scored three times this season and enters international week in fine fettle.

Sven-Göran Eriksson, the England head coach, was at St James’ Park to witness Rooney’s goal and the driving run and scything cross in the final moments that provided Ruud van Nistelrooy with a simple finish. “That was a great example for any young person who wants to get to the very top,” Sir Alex Ferguson said, and if the easily-offended may not agree, his appreciation was understandable.

Rooney apart, it is not United’s football that is catching the eye, but their statistics. They have won every competitive game this season without conceding a goal and if there were some ordinary moments on Tyneside, their results suggest that Chelsea face a stiff challenge. “It wasn’t a great performance,” the manager said, “but it was determined. Our defence was excellent and there’s a solid look to us.”

For much of the opening period, Newcastle could say the same, but they fell away badly after losing key personnel to injury. It is now 555 minutes since one of their players mustered a goal, they have amassed only one victory in their past 14 fixtures in the Barclays Premiership and have gained just a single point this term.

It was symptomatic of Newcastle’s chequered relationship with fortune that neither Emre Belözoglu nor Kieron Dyer were active combatants by half-time. In rushing both midfield players back from hamstring injuries, Graeme Souness took a punt that was to disintegrate in the 23rd minute when Emre hobbled from the field. Lee Bowyer was another early departee.

That meant a reprieve — if only a temporary one — for Jermaine Jenas, who began the afternoon in his tracksuit. Having indicated a strong desire to leave Newcastle earlier this season, his protracted courtship by Tottenham Hotspur is expected to be consummated within the next 48 hours, probably for a fee of £8 million.

Lacking the blessing of good luck, Newcastle made do with Albert Luque. The Spain international, who signed from Deportivo La Coruña for £10 million on Friday, made a limited impression on the left side of Newcastle’s three-man attack. Luque put the ball in the net from an offside position, conceded a throw-in with a volley from six yards and some refined touches were undermined by his inability to keep up with the pace of the game.

United were slow to eke out the advantage that beckoned to them. Van Nistelrooy brought a comfortable save from Shay Given with a snap volley but the Dutchman delayed his impact. When a whipped cross from John O’Shea demanded to be attacked, he withdrew and when put clear by Rooney he tumbled over Given, an act of theatre that earned him a caution for diving.

Newcastle were not at their sharpest. Steven Taylor, who was otherwise impressive, did not anticipate Van Nistelrooy’s jump and Jean-Alain Boumsong allowed the ball to bounce. Rooney finished with accuracy and power. Boumsong was again at fault for United’s second. Rooney galloped upfield and directed a low ball into the box, where the France centre half’s attempted clearance was ineffectual.

“Boum has been good enough to hold his hands up and that’s to his credit, but we’ll win and lose as a team,” Alan Murray, Souness’s assistant said. “We’ll regroup and move on.” Unlike Rooney, you would not swear to it.