Rooney, who the Sunday Mirror revealed footage of him helping himself to Nike goodies at a hospitality box at Wembley, missed the match at the Etihad through injury.
The Manchester Evening News report that Rooney was brought into the away dressing room at the Etihad Stadium, even though players excluded from the matchday squad are usually not permitted to enter until after games by Louis van Gaal.
In the sanctuary of the dressing room, Rooney is believed to have given a speech to United's players ahead of the 1-0 win - a tactic which worked wonders, given how well United performed just 10 days on from their surrender at Anfield.
Rooney gave a speech to his teammates at a similar stage last season which paid off.
After United were eliminated from the FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal, Rooney gave an 'important speech' the night before United blitzed Tottenham 3-0 in the third of a six-game winning run in the Premier League. Rooney admitted he asked Van Gaal to vacate the room before he gave the speech.
The spell helped United secure a Champions League qualifying spot and The Reds are now just one point off fourth spot with an FA Cup quarter-final at West Ham also on the horizon.
Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Wayne Rooney watches from the directors box
Matt West / BPI Wayne Rooney looks on from the stand
In an interview with Gary Neville last year, Rooney said: "I've done a few to be honest throughout the season, a few players spoke about one in particular , we'd just got beaten in the FA Cup at home to Arsenal, so we were out of literally everything.
"Our main aim was to finish as high up in the table and then we had Liverpool coming up, Man City coming up, so I knew we had some tough games and as a reminder to the players [I told them] the football club we're playing at, the standards you need to set at this club and what we have to do to reach our goal from then until the end of the season.
"I asked the players if anybody wanted to speak up, if they had anything to say, so it was along those lines. We played well and won, so that got a bit of coverage.
"I think I just felt as, being captain, it was my job everyone knew what we were focusing on from then until the end of the season and we've got a good dressing room.
"You knew what it was like, if you stood up there with everyone, it's a bit of banter but when I was speaking the lads were fully focused and listened and we went on a good run from there."
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