Owen frustrated by expectations

Manchester United striker Michael Owen scored his third goal of the season in the Carling Cup victory against Barnsley but remains bewildered by what some people expect of him.

Owen found the target in the 59th minute of the 2-0 win with a clinical finish at Oakwell following a ball from Fabio.

Danny Welbeck had earlier put United in the driving seat after five minutes when he headed home a corner from Anderson.

Owen said: “A start and a goal, you can’t ask for more than that. It is how people judge me unfortunately.

“I started a game against Bolton and was pretty pleased and thought I played pretty well. Then I looked at the papers and was given a three or four.

“But in this game I played pretty average and scored a goal and I’ll probably get seven out of 10. I think I deserved a five in this game and seven or eight from the Bolton game.”