Wigan 1-3 Manchester United

Half-fit and without a game for more than a month, Giggs was only named as a substitute by Sir Alex Ferguson as an emergency measure after Cristiano Ronaldo failed to recover from an ankle injury.

But the Welshman still had too much class for Wigan, turning the game on its head after Leighton Baines' stunning fifth-minute free-kick had given the Latics an interval lead.

It was Giggs' corner which provided Nemanja Vidic with the equaliser, by which point he had already succeeded in wiping all the early swagger out of Wigan's play.

A brilliant piece of control from Louis Saha allowed the Frenchman to put United in front four minutes after Vidic's header and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer maintained his recent fine form with a stoppage-time third to seal a deserved win.

For a long time though, it looked as though United would have to wait for their first Premiership away triumph since August.