Robin Van Persie expressed his relief at finally finding the back of the net after scoring the second goal against Stoke City in a regulation 2-0 win for Manchester United in the English Premier League, which took them 15 points clear of second-placed Manchester City.

Van Persie broke his goal drought, winning a penalty and then calmly converting it, after Michael Carrick had given the league leaders an early lead.

The Dutchman, who had gone ten games without finding the target, celebrated by running up to the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and the playing staff, as his relief at scoring was there for everyone to see.

"I had to score that one and thankfully it went in, and after that the relief of a couple of weeks came out, I would say," Van Persie told the club's official website.

"I wanted to celebrate with everyone; with the players, the staff, with all the players involved even on the bench because they've been great to me from day one.

"Even when sometimes it is a little bit harder, they still believe in me and they still support me and help me wherever they can. That's why I wanted to join everyone."

Wayne Rooney, who played in a midfield role, with Hernandez and Van Persie up top, has missed his fair share of penalties this season, and therefore was impressed with the manner in which the Dutchman stepped up under pressure.

"I'm sure he would have thought about it (the drought) before he took the penalty, but he showed a lot of courage to step up and put it away," Rooney said. "Credit to him for that.

"Every player in the world has had a few games on the run without scoring. Robin's kept his head down, kept working and thankfully today he's got his goal and hopefully that'll kick him on because he'll be a massive player in the next few games for us."

Ferguson joked Van Persie nearly killed him after running up to him at full tilt before going into a bear hug, following the goal.

"He nearly killed me! He forgets I'm 71," Ferguson said with a smile. "It was a great celebration as it brought the emotion of the players and fans together. We really did celebrate that.

"For all strikers you go through spells when you are not scoring and thinking you will never get a goal.

"Then when you are scoring you never think you are going to miss.

"The ball moved off the spot two or three times but he showed composure to settle down and score a perfect penalty -- low, hard and into the corner."