As the Manchester United supporters headed away into the drizzle, there was at least a collective sense of relief that Louis van Gaal’s team had reminded themselves what it was like to win a football match. It had been a long time coming – 42 days, to be precise – and they had to endure a wretched first half. Yet the eight-match sequence without a victory, their worst run since 1990, was finally over and Wayne Rooney’s improvisational winner had soothing effects for a crowd that is used to better times.

Van Gaal’s side made hard going of it at times and it still feels startling that Old Trafford, a stadium famous for its sense of high drama, has seen the lowest number of goals this season, 15, of all 92 league clubs. Staggeringly, United have not managed a first-half one in nine successive home games stretching back to 30 September and Van Gaal is being generous in the extreme when he says this team is still capable of winning the league.

There was, however, an improvement during a second half when United took the lead through Anthony Martial’s header before toying with the idea of the game becoming another ordeal courtesy of Gylfi Sigurdsson’s 71st-minute equaliser. Rooney’s goal came six minutes later and should ease his confidence at a time when United’s captain has admitted being off form. In the first half, Rooney was booed when he played the ball backwards.

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Rooney has now moved ahead of Denis Law to become the second-highest scorer in United’s history, 11 short of Sir Bobby Charlton’s 249, but his afternoon might still have been spoiled during a late, frenetic spell of pressure from Swansea culminating in Lukasz Fabianski, the visiting keeper, coming forward for a stoppage-time corner, leaping in the manner of a modern-day John Charles and flashing a header just wide of David de Gea’s goal.

The final whistle shrilled moments later and United survived but it cannot be satisfactory that, 18 months after joining the club, Van Gaal is still experimenting with new formations and still a mile away from everything fully clicking.

His new system here took some working out, veering from 3-4-2-1 to 3‑1‑3-3 and back again, and it is no wonder sometimes if even his own players look puzzled themselves. The football was leaden in the first half and, once again, there were times when an impatient crowd struggled to contain their frustrations.

In other parts of the game there was a brooding silence. Old Trafford is not enjoying what it sees and Van Gaal should be grateful the fans are showing more restraint than he would have experienced at some of his previous clubs. At Barcelona, it is easy to imagine how vigorously the panolada would have been fluttering and it was remarkable afterwards to hear him say he was happier with the first half than the second one. That sentence, more than anything, sums up what an awkward fit he is at a club with United’s love of adventure.

If that sounds slightly harsh after a return to winning ways, then it cannot be overstated how dreary United looked in the opening 45 minutes. At one point, the cameras turned to the seats where United’s directors and staff were struggling to hide their own boredom. Sir Alex Ferguson was playing with his phone. The academy coach, Paul McGuinness, was reading the programme and Nicky Butt also had his phone out. United were ponderous, predictable and prosaic and fortunate, perhaps, the referee, Jon Moss, gave Morgan Schneiderlin the benefit of the doubt after he had hooked an attempted clearance against his own hand.

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Martial’s goal came two minutes into the second half with a downward header from Ashley Young’s right-wing cross and at that stage United’s crowd must have been encouraged by the fact they had conceded only three goals here all season. Yet the game opened up when Swansea’s caretaker manager, Alan Curtis, who had left Jonjo Shelvey out of his squad, brought on Modou Barrow for Leon Britton. Britton had been the outstanding player in the first half but Barrow gave the team width and penetration and it was the Gambian’s cross, having eluded the half-time substitute Matteo Darmian, that led to Sigurdsson looping a header over De Gea for the equaliser.

Swansea could also reflect on André Ayew’s header striking the post at 1-0 and they were aggrieved that Ángel Rangel was booked for an alleged dive when he reached the loose ball with Darmian closing in. They gave everything in the closing stages and, as well as Fabianski’s attempts to give the game an extraordinary last twist, De Gea had to turn away a fiercely struck shot from Ashley Williams.

Yet this was a day, ultimately, when Rooney turned down the volume a little on his critics. His goal was a beauty, set up by Martial’s driving run and low centre and turned in by Rooney’s left foot, flicked behind his right, to spare Van Gaal another wave of intense scrutiny.