After suffering an ignominious exit in the group stages last year, Manchester United ensured progress to the knockout rounds of this season's Champions League with a 3-1 victory away to Braga, in a game which saw Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez all getting in on the scoresheet.
United were losing the game until the 80th minute when Van Persie popped up with the equalizer, before Rooney's penalty and a late Hernandez goal ensured all three points, and Rooney believes United have a forward line that is working really well together.
"He's a fantastic player," Rooney said of Van Persie. "He's been a great addition to the team, scoring goals, and he's great to play with.
"Not just him but Chicharito (Hernandez) has been brilliant in recent weeks when he's played, scoring goals, so I think we're sharing the goals out and it's great for the team."
United were hardly imperious on a night when the game was delayed for 12 minutes in the second half due to floodlight failure, but the England striker believes getting a positive result is all that matters at the end of the day.
"There have been games this season where we've been fantastic and there have been games where we've had to grind out results," Rooney told Sky Sports. "Tonight we had a difficult night and we weren't at our best but we won the game and that's all we can ask. We've topped the group and that's the main thing. We're happy with that.
"We're in a good position and we know we can play better football. Now we have a run of games where we feel we can get maximum points, so hopefully we can do that."
Now that qualification is secured, United can cast their eye on the next round, with Rooney convinced his team are capable of going all the way to the final which will be played at Wembley. "We were disappointed to go out at the group stage last year so our target this year was to qualify and then take it from there," he said. "Thankfully we've done that after four games and topped the group. We're really pleased with that.
"Last season we had a lot of new young players come into the team and (the Champions League) is a different experience for them. They've gained experience from last season and the manager's given them further chances this season and that's paid off for us.
"Anyone can go on a run and win the tournament. We have to make sure we're at our best and you need to be a bit lucky in the draw for the early rounds of the knockout stages but we're ready and with the final at Wembley it's a great incentive for us."
