LOUIS VAN GAAL led the tributes to Wayne Rooney by declaring it was an “amazing” achievement to beat Denis Law’s total of goals for Manchester United.
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| Man United boss Louis van Gaal hails Wayne Rooney for breaking Denis Law's goalscoring record |
Captain Rooney, who had been level with Law on 237, back-heeled his 238th strike for United from Anthony Martial’s cross to earn his side victory over Swansea.
And Van Gaal admitted it came at a vital time for the team and him as he savoured a victory that eased the pressure after an eight-game winless run.
The Dutchman reckons the most remarkable element is that Rooney, who is only behind United’s 249-goal record scorer Sir Bobby Charlton, has reached the landmark at such a young age.
“It is amazing and that at the age of 30 years,” he said. “Of course now we are playing much more matches but still it is an achievement. Fantastic. For me, it is an achievement that he scores now and he scored today. I hope it’s a fantastic starting point for the team and also for him.
“I am always demanding he makes runs to the first post. He was running to the first post and he created the gap for Martial. He scores also a fantastic goal, with his left foot behind his right foot and you cannot imagine what a goal that is. A great goal. All the players have done their utmost best.”
Van Gaal dropped Rooney for last week’s trip to Stoke but has been pleased with his reaction since. He added: “I have said to him that it is the second match in a row that he played very well. And he scored a goal. You always leave players out because they were less effective.”
Rooney’s goal was his 188th in the Premier League, meaning he moved past Andy Cole, and only Alan Shearer, the 260-goal record holder, has scored more.
Germany skipper Bastian Schweinsteiger joined in the praise for his club captain, saying: “The influence of Wayne Rooney is very important for us.
“It was an unbelievable goal from Wayne. Unfortunately, he couldn’t score against Chelsea, but I think he will be very happy now.”
Ashley Young, who set up Martial’s opener, praised both scorers, saying: “Anthony’s shown that week in, week out. I wouldn’t want to be facing him.
“He was fantastic, got the goal obviously and set up Wayne’s one as well. It was a great finish by Wayne. It was a striker’s instinct to get there.”
Van Gaal believes his players, who had lost four of their last five games, will be under less stress after getting a win.
“It shall raise the confidence and lower the pressure because the players had a lot of pressure,” he said. “The opponent is also playing in a way that makes it difficult to score, with 10 players behind the half-way line.”
While United did not score a first- half goal, for the ninth consecutive game at Old Trafford, Van Gaal claimed their display in the opening 45 minutes was superior.
“The first half was a better half than the second,” he insisted. “As a team, our performance in the first half was better.
“We don’t give any chances away in the first half. In the second half we created fewer chances but we scored.”
While Van Gaal has been criticised for his cautious tactics as United have scored only 12 goals in their last 15 games.
He said: “I think we played a very risky system. We played with three defenders.”
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.”
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