United go second

Rooney pounced from close range after a run from Cristiano Ronaldo down the right, but he came off six minutes later and is expected to miss the next three weeks with a hamstring injury.

United were holding on at the end but steady defending saw them go two points behind leaders Liverpool with a game in hand.

They will go top if they beat Bolton at the weekend, with Liverpool not playing Everton until Monday night.

It was Rooney's fifth Premier League goal and 14th in all competitions this season.

The England striker's replacement, Carlos Tevez, missed a straightforward chance when a poor first touch sent him too far wide after he was played clean through.

The Argentine's miss came in the 25th minute and appeared to dent his confidence as, despite working hard, he barely got a sniff on goal and was outshone by Wigan's rugged defence.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson later said that Tevez played with a knock for the second half, while defender Jonny Evans also struggled with an injury.

The goal-scoring start stunned Wigan, but despite dominating first-half possession the hosts had little else to show other than a shot from Nani that went well over Chris Kirkland's crossbar and a long-range drive from Paul Scholes that was blocked by Mario Melchiot.

Wigan were on the back foot for much of the first half but created speculative efforts from distance by Luis Antonio Valencia, Emile Heskey and Wilson Palacios, with the latter subject of a £10 million bid from Tottenham that was rejected minutes before kick off.

They also had the second-best chance of the half when Paul Scharner rose to head a Ryan Taylor cross into the side netting on 38 minutes.

Steve Bruce's men grew into the match and, three minutes later, Taylor should have made Edwin van der Sar work but curled a shot wide when he was found unmarked in the box.

In the second half, Wigan were the better side.

Aside from some clever build-up play by Dimitar Berbatov – who had one cheeky effort with the outside of his foot go wide with six minutes left – United barely got a look-in.

Wigan almost grabbed a leveller just after the hour mark but Amr Zaki's volley was blocked and Taylor's follow-up was saved by Van der Sar, who was by far the busier keeper.

The Dutch veteran was forced to act bravely under pressure on two occasions while he saved well from Palacios's spectacular long-range shot.

Serbia centre-half Nemanja Vidic was becoming United's key man, with key challenges on Heskey and Maynor Figueroa and a generally strong aerial performance that helped keep them ahead.

The Latics piled on the pressure in the closing minutes but United clung on to the win while Wigan lost only their second Premier League match in eight.