Swansea did spring a surprise by edging out Manchester United 2-1 in a action packed encounter at the Liberty Stadium. With an unbeaten run of 19 games and claims by Louis Van Gaal that finally his philosophy is being followed by his players, Manchester United headed to the Liberty Stadium to consolidate their third place in the Premier League.
First Half
Big news of the day was Wayne Rooney starting upfront with Robin Van Persie with Falcao being dropped to the bench and Manchester United side looked attacking in the way they shaped up. Defensive vulnerabilities of United have been a feature this season with Gomis coming close from the first corner of the match which was saved from a goal line clearance from Ander Herrera. The first fifteen minutes had terrible passing as a feature with Manchester United side looking vulnerable in defending any form of set piece.
As the first half progressed Manchester United slowly started crawling back in the game and an amazing build up from the left flank was finished by Ander Herrera making it three goals in as many starts with United taking the lead. However within the next two minutes Swansea came back with Ki Son scoring after a poor defensive marking costing dearly to the visitors. After the two quick goals there were incessant attacks from Manchester United which were not threatening Fabianski’s goal with United’s captain Rooney leading the way in linking the midfield and attack cleverly. As the first half ended both the teams headed down the tunnel and hoped they can bring better passing range in the next half to increase pace of the game.
Second Half
The visitors had a substitution in the beginning with Antonio Valencia replacing Paddy McNair to fasten up the pace on the right flank. Nervous moments were revisited by the United’s defense with the goal scorer Ki getting clear to be denied by David De Gea. As the second half progressed United started having the majority of possession and Ashley Young was introduced for Luke Shaw around the hour mark signaling the intent from United to get all three points. With the combination of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney showing the glimpses of the past slowly the visitors were tightening their grip on the match.
With another twist in the tale in store, Shelvey scored a smashing goal with a lucky deflection of Gomis to put the host ahead against the run of play. With the goal taking the steam out of Manchester United’s side, Montero replaced Sigurdsson to ensure that Swansea defend from the top. With four minutes of additional time and an injured Van Persie on the field it was difficult to see where the goal would come for United.
In the end one of the more enterprising second half performances from United was shot out by a resilient Swansea side who secured their league double over Manchester United courtesy a former Liverpool player.
Image Source: Telegraph & BBC Sport