Louis van Gaal hails Wayne Rooney after landmark goal

Martial, who scored United’s first goal on a strong header, made a nice run to the goal line and then sent in the cross as Rooney went to the front of the goal. An actual goal. A genuinely excellent one as well: Anthony Martial deleted Federico Fernandez with a drop of his shoulder, sashayed his way to the byline and squared the ball to his captain, who (to everybody’s surprise, including possibly his own) flicked a backheeled finish into Fabianski’s net.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal on Saturday said it needs to buy another striker to end the goal drought of the English football club. There is a statue of him arm in arm with George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton – the other two members of United’s famed Holy Trinity – outside the East Stand of Old Trafford. But we still have a good team and we can still score goals. Luckily for United, Wayne Routledge volleyed straight at De Gea.

It was the ninth successive game that United had failed to score in the first half at Old Trafford.

He wasn’t happy for long though, as United took the lead just 2 minutes after the restart. Ashley Young crossed to Martial, who powered a header in from eight yards.

“I think the first half was a better half than the second”, he said.

The goal sparked United into life, with the team’s passing becoming sharper and Ander Herrera shooting over, but Swansea nearly equalized when Andre Ayew headed Sigurdsson’s cross against the post in the 64th.

Swansea City’s caretaker boss Alan Curtis makes major alterations to his line-up, with seven changes from their draw against Crystal Palace. “I hope it is a fantastic starting point for the team and for him”.

That big chance had given the Swans some confidence and belief now that they could get an equaliser, while United looked far from convincing that they would go on and get a second that would have guaranteed the victory.