Man Utd win can be ‘fantastic’ start to new year: Van Gaal

He will be aiming to break Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 260 United goals, but is unlikely to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of 260 goals, with more than 70 to go.

Martial powered home Ashley Young’s cross less than two minutes after the restart to ease the tension that had built inside Old Trafford following yet another boring display in the first half.

United’s players were at pains to insist they were giving their all for their embattled manager during the bad run and Van Gaal has revealed his team were furious with their displays.

After a dour first half, Martial had headed United in front, before Gylfi Sigurdsson’s glancing effort set nerves on edge at Old Trafford.

At the halftime whistle, United had failed to score a first-half goal again.

“We played with three defenders, but we did very well and created a lot of chances”. If the Chelsea draw was a slight indication that the players were playing for van Gaal, the resolve to come back and win the game in the last minutes gives complete proof that Louis van Gaal has the complete support of the players, which is so important in today’s times.

“We always look to a game plan that suits us more and also that the opponent doesn’t expect”.

The victory moves Van Gaal’s side up to fifth in the table, while Swansea remain two points above the relegation zone.

Carragher, a former teammate of Rooney at worldwide level, believes the fact he broke through as a 16-year-old and has played nearly 14 years of regular top flight football means his body has been put under more strain than most other 30-year-old players.

“I hope this is a fantastic starting point for us in the new year and we can continue against Sheffield United [in the FA Cup]”. While it’s unlikely that LVG will stick around for two decades, this Rooney goal might just have saved Van Gaal’s job.

It should not be lost on Manchester United fans that a backheeled goal took Wayne Rooney past Denis Law in the club’s all-time scoring charts. When Martial beat Angel Rangel and drove the ball low across the six-yard box, Rooney flicked the ball home with the inside of his foot to claim one of the more important goals of his long United career.

“Now the pressure is lowering, the performance shall be better every week”, said Van Gaal.

Van Gaal could name an unchanged team from the Chelsea clash, with Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw and Jesse Lingard still on the sidelines.