Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has lavished praise on striker Wayne Rooney for his performance against continental heavyweights Milan in the Champions League.
The two clubs met at the San Siro on Tuesday night, the Premier League club initially going a goal down before Paul Scholes levelled matters in the first half.
The second period saw the Scouse striker hit sensational form, bagging a brace to ensure victory before a late strike from Clarence Seedorf kept the Rossoneri in with a shout for the all-important second leg at Old Trafford.
Following the game, Ferguson pointed out that the ageing back-line of the Serie A giants could not cope with Rooney's "devastating" form.
"His second-half performance tonight carried on the form Wayne has been showing recently," he said, according to The Press Association.
"He is in absolutely devastating form. They could not handle him. They just could not handle him in the second half. I thought he was marvellous."
The two goals at the San Siro took the former Everton hitman's tally to 25 for the season, and the gaffer has added weight to the statistics pinning him as one of the best players in the world at the moment.
"There has been an improvement in his game over the last two months," said Ferguson.
"Confidence has a lot to do with that but it's also his ability as a player.
"As I've said about him on a number of occasions, what he has to do is improve his goal scoring. That is what he is doing now.
"When you look at the way he is performing at the moment he must be regarded amongst those players at the highest level."
Manchester United will play Milan in the reverse fixture on March 10 at Old Trafford.
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