Wayne Rooney moved into second on the all-time scoring charts for both the Premier League and Manchester United to help the Red Devils beat Swansea City 2-1 at Old Trafford this afternoon.
The hosts had been winless in eight matches heading into the game - their worst run for 16 years - but the skipper relieved some of the pressure on Louis van Gaal's shoulders with a moment of magic in the final 15 minutes.
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Both sides went into the match having only managed one goal in their last three games, and it was a predictably tight opening to the contest with Ander Herrera's blocked shot being the only notable sight of goal in the first 20 minutes.
Rooney had the first real hint of a chance midway through the first half when a cross found him unmarked at the back post, but his first touch let him down and he could only drill an effort into the side-netting.
Swansea continued to grow into the match and tested David de Gea for the first time shortly before the half-hour mark when Wayne Routledge's volley drew a comfortable save from the Spanish keeper.
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The clearest chance of the half went the way of the home side, however, as Juan Mata collected a quick free kick inside the area, only to see his first effort blocked by Neil Taylor's last-ditch challenge and the rebound roll tamely into the arms of Lukasz Fabianski.
Rooney had two more headed chances either side of another Fabianski save from Mata towards the end of the half, but that didn't stop the home fans inside Old Trafford from voicing their displeasure as the two sides went into the break.
United responded to that in the opening stages of the second half by making a quick start, breaking the deadlock within two minutes when Anthony Martial nodded Ashley Young's cross past Fabianski.
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Rooney and Herrera had openings to double that advantage as the hosts enjoyed a dominant spell, with Young causing havoc down the right, but Swansea came within inches of levelling things up against the run of play when Gylfi Sigurdsson clipped a cross in to Andre Ayew, whose header came back off the post.
The visitors would not have to wait much longer to restore parity, however, as Modou Barrow's cross found Sigurdsson, who flicked a header expertly over De Gea and into the far corner.
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That piled the pressure back on under-fire manager Van Gaal, but his captain came to the rescue just six minutes later. Martial turned provider this time with a cut-back into the middle, which Rooney flicked into the far corner.
It was a special way to score his 238th goal for United, moving into outright second ahead of Denis Law, and it proved to be the winner too despite Ashley Williams testing De Gea with a thumping effort in stoppage time.
There was almost an even more unlikely name on the scoresheet with the final action of the match when Fabianski was up for a corner, planting a header just wide as United hung on for a win that takes them back up to fifth in the table.
Barney Corkhill
