Patrick Rees
The past Sunday saw Manchester United finally clinching all three points in the Premier League after a long time. A whole lot of changes were made by the manager, as Phil Jones marked his return in the line-up and Ashley Young was slotted into the right back spot. Michael Carrick was handed his first Premier League start and Wayne Rooney was also named in the list.
With Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini guarding the midfield, Pogba was given the license to launch regular forays and this resulted in a complete domination of the Swans at Liberty Stadium. United opened the scoring through Paul Pogba, as the Frenchman slotted a well crafted United move into the back of the net with a thunderous volley and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s brace gave United the second half to breathe.
This win means they have finally ended their winless streak of four games and will be looking to add more to it. With Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United drawing their games, it is a right time for the Devils to step up and reduce the gap with the top 4 teams.
Coming back to the weekend’s games, here are three photos that sum up Manchester United’s performance against the Swans:
Guess who’s back? The 35-year-old Swedish Veteran was under immense pressure as the last time he scored the goal in the Premier League was in the Derby and that means he was without a goal for six consecutive Premier League games, which by the way is his personal best (worst). Talking more statistically, he ended a goalless run of 552 mins (9 hours, 12 mins) with his fifth shot against Swansea. The Brace means he has now 6 goals in the Premier League, which is three less than the current top scorer.
This would have left unnoticed, but the presence of Micahel Carrick was a big factor in United’s stability. The manager did mention that if Carrick was 10 years younger, he would have played every week and the 35-year-old veteran played like he was 25. He commanded the entire midfield in the game and his cool and composed presence allowed Pogba to concentrate on the attacking forays.
Well, he defied his odds and gave a performance he is known for and completely did the justice to what Paul Scholes said of him.
It was a great game for United from every perspective, but the defensive side of the pitch still remains vulnerable. Swansea found it hard to test De Gea in the first half, but they changed the course (not completely though) in the second half and found their consolation that denied De Gea’s chance of keeping yet another clean sheet.
The Spaniard was too close to grab the golden glove award last season, but some defensive errors cost him his title to Arsenal’s Petr Cech. The former Atletico Madrid man will surely be looking to go for the same honour this time around, but he needs his defence to stay error-free to help his cause.
