JUST ILLUSIONS OF GRANDEUR...

Rooney’s f lamboyant f lick not enough to suggest the tide has turned at United

FOR just one moment it felt like the good old days. Anthony Martial tore down the left wing and his opponent Federico Fernandez was simply left standing.

The young Frenchman pulled back the cross, there was a delightfully-impudent flicked backheel from Wayne Rooney in front of the Stretford End and United were back in front in the 77th minute.

It was brazen, exciting and arrogant. Old Trafford roared and the old songs were echoing around the ground. It was just as it should be.

It was, however, something of an illusion and out of kilter with the performance that had preceded it. So when Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski almost headed in an equaliser from a corner with the last touch of the game, the sense of alarm was in keeping with the tenor of the afternoon.

It should not be denied that Rooney’s goal was a hopeful moment and a suggestion of what United might become. It was his first goal in the Premier League since October and he will hope it marks a turning point in his season. Whether it will do so for United remains less certain. For this was not the defining, commanding home performance Manchester United required to banish the woes of the past few months.

This still looks like a club unsure of their identity as they attempt to plot a route out of mediocrity. It was however a win after eight games without one so you could forgive manager Louis van Gaal for investing it and Rooney’s goal, which saw him go past Denis Law on the United scoring charts, with significance.

‘This is a fantastic achievement but for me it is more important that he [Rooney] scored today,’ said Van Gaal. ‘And I hope this will be a fantastic starting point for him and the team. You cannot predict that but it will raise the confidence and lower the pressure. But we have to score our early chances and then it will be easier and then we will be sitting on the bench in a more relaxed way.’

Van Gaal played with a back three, apparently to allow the players to press the ball and attack more and he pronounced himself well satisfied. ‘What is amazing is that we can perform the game plan in the first half and [play the] second half in a risky style under pressure. That’s a positive signal.

‘It is a risk to play like that but we have communicated with the team and I’m proud that they can do it under this pressure. They have shown [that] before this season but this situation was different. That’s why I have a good hope that is a starting point for more.’

Typically though, Van Gaal preferred the first-half performance, which was much more controlled but ultimately flat, to the second, which was less secure but more of a thrill. The opening half-hour, with which Van Gaal was pleased, was slow, one-paced and uninspiring and exactly what Old Trafford season ticket holders have become used to this season. Five out of the last eight home games finished 0-0. Never has a song felt more inappropriate than when they played ‘Glory, Glory Man United’ at half time.

By the end of that first half though there were signs of progress. Three times in the final eight minutes of the half Ashley Young beat his man, crossing twice for Rooney and once for Juan Mata, with Fabianski saving each time. There was a mere smattering of boos at half time and, fortunately for Van Gaal, the breakthrough came quickly in the second half.

Swansea lost possession on 47 minutes and allowed Young another swing at a cross. It missed Rooney but found Martial, who headed into the ground and past Fabianski. Swansea, who had been so good at harrying their opponents until that moment, played their part by failing to defend properly. But it was a United goal at Old Trafford and the relief was palpable.

Yet United remain ever-vulnerable, a point amplified when Andre Ayew headed against the post on 62 minutes. Angel Rangel looked like he might turn the rebound in but he fell under the challenge of Matteo Darmian, for which he received a yellow card, referee Jon Moss deeming it a dive.

On 70 minutes United were not so fortunate. Darmian allowed Modou Barrow time to deliver his cross and no-one challenged Gylfi Sigurdsson, whose header looped over David De Gea and into the top corner.

‘When you equalise that late you’re hoping you can hang on,’ said stand-in manager Alan Curtis. ‘Perhaps we’re clutching at straws because it has to be about results for us at the moment but performances have been decent enough.’

In the first half Swansea hassled United with their diamond formation and became more expansive when they switched to a front three to chase the equaliser.

To United’s credit, no-one panicked when Swansea scored. They kept the faith and their moment came when Martial tore away from Fernandez and Rooney flicked in the winner.

True, they needed De Gea’s flying save from an Ashley Williams strike in the 90th minute and they had to endure the fright of that remarkable header from Fabianski at the death, which flew just past the post. Yet they had a victory after eight games without a win. That will do for now.