Swansea vs Manchester United: Five things we learned as Jose Mourinho's side make it two 4-0 wins out of two

Goals from Eric Bailly and for the second consecutive weekend Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial saw United win 4-0 again after thrashing West Ham last weekend

Ben Burrows
Saturday 19 August 2017 13:22 BST
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Manchester United turned it on late to beat Swansea
Manchester United turned it on late to beat Swansea

Manchester United turned on the style late to beat Swansea but were made to work for their second 4-0 win of the new Premier League season.

Goals from Eric Bailly and, for the second consecutive weekend, Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, saw United back up their opening thrashing of West Ham with another impressive result.

But Swansea put up much more of a fight before three goals in four minutes in the final 10 added the gloss that for much of the contest was lacking.

Two 4-0s, two clean sheets, two wins.

Here's what we learned:

1. 4-0 again but not the same from United

Bailly got United going 

United were sensational last week in putting West Ham to the sword but for the majority of their second outing of the season it was a performance a lot more 2016 than 2017. Much has been made of Mourinho's apparent shift from his habitual defensive style to a more offensive mindset, but this afternoon's display lacked nearly all of the vim and vigour of last weekend.

The Portuguese kept the same eleven who romped over the Hammers but, for 80 minutes at least, gone was the pace and power of last week, replaced instead with the slow, possession-heavy play of last term. Marcus Rashford was bright - more on him shortly - but the rest of the side struggled to make an impact. Lukaku lacked service as both Juan Mata and Henrikh Mkhitaryan failed to find space in the final third while Pogba couldn't grab the game as he did so impressively last Saturday.

Despite the exact same result this felt like a step back for United after last week's impressive opening. They got their goals late as Swansea collapsed after Lukaku made the game safe but the scoreline doesn't fully tell the story of what was a much more ponderous afternoon at the office.

2. Rashford impressive again

Rashford was bright once again for United (Getty)

£75m new boy Lukaku took the headlines last week - and so he should have after a brace on debut - but it was Rashford who really caught the eye. Spin forward six days and the young England man was once again the one to watch as United's main attacking threat.

This United side, although a little more subdued this week, is an altogether more fluid unit this season and with Nemanja Matic once again looking good meshing things together in the middle the front three are afforded the freedom to interchange as they see fit. Rashford is key to this.

Time and again he moved into space with Lukaku moving out wide and always most likely to break something open for the visitors. It wasn't all good and he did snatch at a couple of inviting chances but the 19-year-old looks at home in Mourinho's system and, even with Martial pushing him from the periphery, should be in for a long run in the side.

3. How do Swansea replace Sigurdsson?

Carroll impressed in a more advanced role 

When you lose nine Premier League goals and a further 13 assists you could be forgiven for looking to the transfer market to replace them. But Paul Clement could do well to look in house at just who will step into Gylfi Sigurdsson's shoes.

On Saturday's evidence Tom Carroll, Roque Mesa and Jordan Ayew could all do the job that the Icelandic star has now vacated. Now, clearly not one of that trio are capable of carrying such a burden alone but between them showed they could, if given the opportunity, help bridge the gap together.

Carroll in particular looks at home closer to the opponent's goal and was central to everything the Swans did well. Mesa is a shrewd addition as a tempo setter at the heart of midfield while Ayew, an often frustrating watch, seems more at home in his second season in south Wales and was bright on the occasions the home side pressed United back and came closest to scoring early when he nearly caught David de Gea out with a smart piece of play.

Sigurdsson is a seismic loss, and will still likely see one or more come in in his stead, but Clement has resources already at his disposal worth a second look.

4. Pogba's up and down afternoon

Pogba endured an up and down afternoon 

As did many of his teammates, Paul Pogba looked excellent against the hapless Hammers a week ago but cut a more frustrated figure here at the Liberty Stadium. The Frenchman is a wonderful player on song and has all the tools to take over games such as these. But, shackled by an excellent game plan from the home side, he had a difficult afternoon, unable to fully impose himself on proceedings until the game was already sealed.

Swansea did a good job on him and exposed his more reckless side with some old fashioned tactics with the 24-year-old perhaps lucky to escape a second booking in a particularly feisty 10 minute period in the first half.

The sky is the limit for Pogba, and he took his goal with delicious aplomb, but this was another example of the growing pains he still must endure if he's to fulfil that immense potential.

5. Who are Swansea?

Clement has work to do 

Swansea were lucky to escape with a point from Southampton last weekend after facing a frankly ridiculous 29 shots on goal but, until the closing 10 minutes, the home side were a much more solid outfit. The back three, complete with the returning Kyle Bartley, who was excellent, appeared to suit them with both Alfie Mawson and Feda Fernandez showing up well alongside.

And then came Lukaku's goal and the sky fell in.

Until then United had never cut them open and their half chances were few and far between. They were forced to wait for a set piece goal to open but the manner in which his side collapsed after the second will concern Clement greatly. You simply cannot throw in the towel like the Swans did in the final 10 minutes and such a performance leaves the new boss with lots of work to do.

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