Lukasz Fabianski praises Wayne Rooney as he scores victor for Manchester United

Now he believes United’s title challenge is back on track, saying: “We are still near the top of the league and the gap is less”.

United have scored just 10 goals in their last 14 games in all competitions.

United had not won in their previous eight matches, their worst run since January 1990, prompting speculation over the Dutchman’s future. Van Gaal added: “Considering the pressure we were under I thought it was incredible that we performed the gameplan like we did, in a risky style against hard opponents”.

Despite an encouraging performance in the 0-0 draw against Chelsea, Van Gaal is still under pressure to deliver a win when United host Swansea on Saturday.

Andre Ayew headed against a post before Sigurdsson glanced in the equaliser and with the final touch of the game, goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was only inches wide from a corner with a header that would have taken United nearly back to square one and earned a point that would have further helped caretaker-manager Alan Curtis in his effort to keep the Swans away from the relegation zone.

In the last six meetings (all comps) between these two teams at Old Trafford, the winning side has scored two goals. “You always leave players out because they were less effective”. The last time that they went nine competitive games in a row without a win was in November 1988. “But that it is also dependable on whether or not we score goals, because we are always creating chances”. It’s good to see both our main strikers scoring, and we hope we’ll kick on now, because we can’t afford any more slip ups.

“Now we are playing much more matches but still it is an achievement”. Martial would be the man that sparked the United surge in the second half, scoring the first goal and then assisting Rooney’s classy flick to seal all three points for the Louis van Gaal’s men.

“Now Martial is playing on the left side again, and we have tried that before also, and Wayne in the striker’s position, but today we played also in another shape, so there are so many other aspects”. With the ball behind him, Wayne Rooney managed to divert Anthony Martial’s fast cross into the corner of the goal, courtesy of his heel.

“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 next weekend]”.

“It was an unbelievable goal from Wayne”, Schweinsteiger told reporters at Old Trafford.

The manager thought his players gave their all for him on Saturday.