Wayne Rooney scored his first MLS hat-trick in D.C. United's 5-0 thrashing of Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The Englishman opened the scoring from the penalty spot before adding another goal to his name to make it 2-0 going into the half-time break, Real Salt Lake were reduced to ten men when Venezuelan Jefferson Savarino was given his marching orders for a stamp on Argentina's Luciano Acosta in first-half stoppage time.

Rooney completed his hat-trick on 65 minutes to make it 3-0, claiming his first match ball since moving to the Usa. The visitors were then reduced to nine men when Uruguayan defender Marcelo Silva was sent-off.

The rout was completed by Lucas Rodriguez and Ulises Segura who made it 4-0 and 5-0 respectively. Victory for the capital club spells their best start to a MLS campaign since 2005, with two wins and a draw from their first three matches.