The England striker headed home when it appeared Louis van Gaal was facing another frustrating night at Old Trafford, with the hosts kept at bay until the 79th minute
Wayne Rooney's late header ended Manchester United's goal drought and earned the Red Devils a narrow 1-0 victory over CSKA Moscow.The England captain scored his 237th goal for United, moving level with Denis Law in the club-record books, when he nodded home Jesse Lingard's cross in the 79th minute.
Rooney's strike, which sealed a first home win for the Red Devils over Russian opposition, moves Louis van Gaal's side top of Group B on seven points.
It also spares Van Gaal from becoming the first United manager since 1992 to endure a run of four games without a goal. Four hundred and four minutes had passed since they last hit the net when Rooney struck.
United started brightly in their bid to end that barren spell stretching back to Anthony Martial's effort in the 1-1 draw in Moscow two weeks ago.
The French forward returned to a centre-forward position having been deployed from the left in recent weeks and partnered Rooney up front.
Rooney steered an early attempt wide with his left foot before Martial failed to get enough on a beautiful long pass from Daley Blind to divert the ball beyond Igor Akinfeev.
Lingard, who was picked ahead of Ander Herrera and started on the left wing, lifted a shot over the bar on the half-hour mark as United struggled to change their fortunes in front of goal.
Their best chance of the opening 45 minutes fell to Marcos Rojo, who volleyed Ashley Young's cross from the right wide of the target after CSKA had failed to spot him creeping into space at the far post.
Rojo then failed to hit the target when he should have scored with a header in the opening minutes of the second half as the hosts' frustration grew.
Van Gaal turned to Marouane Fellaini shortly after the hour mark and his decision to withdraw Martial, rather than Rooney, for the Belgian was greeted with boos from a disgruntled home crowd.
Rooney and Young had hopeful penalty claims waved away before the former stumbled when it looked as if he would convert Juan Mata's pass across goal, drawing yet more derision from the stands.
The gloom in the ground might have broken out into mutiny had David de Gea and Chris Smalling not desperately denied CSKA substitute Seydou Doumbia, with the defender brilliantly blocking a goal-bound second attempt.
That set the stage for Rooney to answer his critics and transform United and Van Gaal's night. Michael Carrick clipped a superb pass behind the defence which Lingard volleyed across goal for the 30-year-old to head home.
Wayne Rooney's late header secured victory for Manchester United over CSKA Moscow in Champions League Group B in front of a nervy Old Trafford crowd.
Only an excellent save from David de Gea and Chris Smalling's last-ditch block on the line had prevented the hosts falling behind a few minutes earlier as Seydou Doumbia burst clear.
Rooney's header was United's first goal in 404 minutes after three 0-0 draws.
The victory moves United top of the group with two games remaining.
Wolfsburg, who had led the standings before kick-off, were beaten 2-0 away to PSV Eindhoven.
While manager Louis van Gaal will feel his tactical decisions were vindicated by his side's early promise, with Rooney and Anthony Martial in tandem up front and United's renewed energy after the introduction of Marouane Fellaini, the crowd booed and called for more attacking intent at several points.
Plan A fails
After their three successive goalless draws, Paul Scholes and Andrei Kanchelskis - two of the most thrilling attackers Old Trafford have seen in recent times - had criticised the lack of creativity in Van Gaal's side.The manager had reacted in prickly fashion, but his decision to liberate Martial from the left wing and play him up alongside Rooney as a second striker spoke volumes.
Rooney enjoyed the company, dropping deep to set up a chance for Jesse Lingard with a neat reverse ball.
Full-back Marcos Rojo meanwhile provided the hosts' width, sending over a barrage of crosses from the left as his team-mates channelled play down his flank.
But United's early momentum slowed and the half ended with the crowd urging their side to attack more, as optimism turned to tension.
Fans rebel against Van Gaal change
In the 66th minute, Van Gaal changed to a tactic he has insisted will never be "normal" as Fellaini came on to bolster the attack in place of Martial.
The decision drew jeers from the Old Trafford crowd, chants of Martial's name and more pleas for attacking football.
They were not alone in questioning Van Gaal's judgement. BBC Radio 5 live analyst Pat Nevin described the removal of Martial as "a shocker".
However, Fellaini's presence seemed to revive flagging United belief and unsettle CSKA's defenders.
When Lingard volleyed Michael Carrick's long pass back into the box it was the familiar head of Rooney - rather than the distinctive one of Fellaini - that met it to prevent his side going four games without scoring for the first time since 1992.
CSKA threaten repeat Manchester raid
Almost a year ago to the day, CSKA had plunged Manchester City's Champions League campaign into peril with a 2-1 win across the city at Etihad Stadium.
With star striker Doumbia - who scored both of the goals in that win - left on the bench the Russian side initially looked unlikely to repeat such a heist.
But the Ivorian's arrival added an attacking edge and brought the visitors out of their shell.
He should have added to a superb Champions League scoring record of 13 in 18 games, but De Gea and Smalling combined brilliantly to deny him and, just a minute later, Rooney moved level with Denis Law on United's all-time scoring charts with 237 goals.
Man of the match: Jesse Lingard
What's next?
Manchester United, fourth in the Premier League table, play West Brom at home on Saturday in their final match before an international break.
LINEUP, BOOKINGS (2) & SUBSTITUTIONS (6)
Manchester United
- 01 de Gea
- 18 Young
- 12 Smalling
- 17 Blind
- 05 Rojo
- 16 Carrick
- 31 Schweinsteiger (Herrera - 89' )
- 08 Mata (Depay - 74' )
- 10 Rooney
- 35 Lingard
- 09 Martial (Fellaini - 66' )
Substitutes
- 04 Jones
- 07 Depay
- 20 Romero
- 21 Herrera
- 27 Fellaini
- 36 Darmian
- 44 Pereira
CSKA Moscow
- 35 Akinfeev
- 02 Figueira Fernandes
- 06 Berezutski
- 04 Ignashevitch
- 42 Schennikov Booked
- 10 Dzagoev (Panchenko - 85' )
- 03 Wernbloom Booked
- 07 Tosic (Golovin - 75' )
- 66 Natcho (Doumbia - 55' )
- 23 Milanov
- 18 Musa
Substitutes
- 01 Chepchugov
- 05 Vasin
- 08 Panchenko
- 14 Nababkin
- 60 Golovin
- 88 Doumbia
Ref: Szymon Marciniak
Att: 75,165
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