Swansea 0-4 Manchester United: Eric Bailly, Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial secure emphatic four-goal victory for Jose Mourinho's men

  • Jordan Ayew hit the frame of the goal early on for Swansea before Phil Jones did for Manchester United
  • Eric Bailly gave United the lead just before half-time with a close-range rebound from a Paul Pogba header
  • Romelu Lukaku added a second for United on 80 minutes with a close-range finish
  • Paul Pogba made it three with an exquisite chip two minutes later in a swift counter-attack
  • Anthony Martial netted the fourth with a dazzling run and shot into the bottom corner
  • CLICK HERE to re-live all the action from the Liberty Stadium as it happened with Sportsmail's Dan Ripley

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There is undeniable power and more than a hint of swagger about the Manchester United team Jose Mourinho is constructing. And Paul Pogba personifies both of those characteristics.

'What a waste of money,' chanted the United fans jubilantly and ironically about the man who was once the most-expensive player in the world, back in the days when £89million was a significant fee.

On Saturday he was the dominant midfielder, driving United on to one of those important away victories against one of those obstinate, less-exalted teams with some delightful moments of both subtlety and muscularity. 


Eric Bailly (right) wheels away in celebration with the ball in hand after scoring Manchester United's opening goal

Eric Bailly (right) wheels away in celebration with the ball in hand after scoring Manchester United's opening goal

The defender reacted the quickest to Lukasz Fabianski's save from Paul Pogba's header to poke home from close range

The defender reacted the quickest to Lukasz Fabianski's save from Paul Pogba's header to poke home from close range

The Red Devils' centre back was promptly mobbed by his team-mates after giving them the lead on the stroke of half-time

The Red Devils' centre back was promptly mobbed by his team-mates after giving them the lead on the stroke of half-time

Bailly's goal to break the deadlock was his first for United since joining from Villarreal last summer

Bailly's goal to break the deadlock was his first for United since joining from Villarreal last summer

Pogba with Nemanja Matic, whose move from Chelsea has the potential to develop into one of the pivotal moments in the changing balance of Premier League power, give United a durability which was lacking last season.

In the last ten minutes, when Swansea finally gave on a game in which they had previously held their own, United were unstoppable, with three goals in three minutes and forty one seconds. At the heart of that was Pogba, along with Romelu Lukaku, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial,a formidable combination.

And yet the Frenchman was also fortunate not to have thrown it all away on 31 minutes, when a tense minute ensued as referee Jon Moss considered the late challenge he had made on Martin Olsson, coming five minutes after he had been booked for hacking down Tom Carroll.

Whatever Mourinho said later – 'No, I wasn't worried, because I didn't even think the first one was a yellow card' – he seemed poised, stood on the edge of his area, for another confrontation as he stood and waited for Moss, the man who has twice sent him to the stands, to make his decision. Yet Moss relented, issued a stern warning and Pogba thrived, always the centre of attention. 

MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE 

Swansea: Fabianski, Fernandez, Bartley (Routledge 67), Mawson, Roque (Narsingh 67) , Naughton, Fer, Carroll, Olsson, Abraham (McBurnie 82), Ayew. 

Subs: van der Hoorn, Nordfeldt, Rangel, Fulton.

Booked: Fer 

Man Utd: de Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Jones, Blind, Pogba, Matic, Mata (Fellaini 75), Mkhitaryan (Herrera 85), Rashford (Martial 75), Lukaku. 

Subs: Romero, Lindelof, Smalling, Lingard.

Booked: Pogba 

Goal: Bailly 45, Lukaku 80, Pogba 82, Martial 84.

Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire)

Attendance: 20,862

Season at a glance

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Before kick-off, there was a minute of applause following the passing of Swansea honorary president Gwilym Joseph

Before kick-off, there was a minute of applause following the passing of Swansea honorary president Gwilym Joseph

Swansea manager Paul Clement shakes hands with his United counterpart Jose Mourinho prior to kick-off

Swansea manager Paul Clement shakes hands with his United counterpart Jose Mourinho prior to kick-off

Martin Olsson plays a pass down the line for Swansea under pressure from United captain Antonio Valencia

Martin Olsson plays a pass down the line for Swansea under pressure from United captain Antonio Valencia

Swansea nearly took an early lead when Jordan Ayew's cross-cum shot hit the frame of United's goal

Swansea nearly took an early lead when Jordan Ayew's cross-cum shot hit the frame of United's goal

Just a few minutes later, United went up the other end and hit the frame of the Swansea goal via Phil Jones

Just a few minutes later, United went up the other end and hit the frame of the Swansea goal via Phil Jones

Jones watches on as his header cannons back off the crossbar during the opening stages of Saturday's encounter

Jones watches on as his header cannons back off the crossbar during the opening stages of Saturday's encounter

It was put to Mourinho that it was 1907 when United last scored four goals in both of their opening games. He was unimpressed. 'I prefer to say we start last season with two matches, six points and we finished sixth. That's not a lesson, it's a reality of football: two matches are not the end of the world for people that lose and it's not paradise for people that win. I am happy of course and the quality of the performance gives me even more confidence.

'The word that better describes the team now is confident. The team starts the game confident, the team starts the second half confident. I don't want to see the team losing but I want to see the way we emotionally react to it because it's another challenge, losing and trying to change the result. In this moment everything is going in our favour. But it's not always motorway, you always find difficult roads and roadworks, and we have to be ready.'

Admirably, Paul Clement did not clutch at the Pogba incident as a fig leaf behind which to hide 'If I was in Jose's position, and the player was sent off then for a second yellow, I would have though it harsh,' he said.

And he could justifiably take some pride in the first 80 minutes of the performance, esoecially given that they have just sold their best player in Gylfi Sigurdsson and are missing Fernando Llorente and Ki Sung-Yeung. 'We were still very much within the game until the second goal. So, we mustn't let our confidence get affected.' 

Marcus Rashford evades the challenge of Swansea midfielder Roque Mesa as the visitors look to go on the attack

Marcus Rashford evades the challenge of Swansea midfielder Roque Mesa as the visitors look to go on the attack

Olsson produced this acrobatic clearance for Swansea during the first half of Saturday's Premier League encounter

Olsson produced this acrobatic clearance for Swansea during the first half of Saturday's Premier League encounter

Tom Carroll was left in a heap after being fouled by  Pogba - who was booked for his challenge on 27 minutes

Tom Carroll was left in a heap after being fouled by Pogba - who was booked for his challenge on 27 minutes

Just three minutes later Pogba was fortunate not to escape a second yellow card for this late challenge on Olsson

Just three minutes later Pogba was fortunate not to escape a second yellow card for this late challenge on Olsson

Referee Jon Moss has a word with the towering United midfielder - warning him of any future conduct

Referee Jon Moss has a word with the towering United midfielder - warning him of any future conduct

Pogba protests his innocence to Moss after this encounter with Swansea midfielder Leroy Fer

Pogba protests his innocence to Moss after this encounter with Swansea midfielder Leroy Fer

Rashford had a great chance to open the scoring when through on goal but his clipped effort was straight at Fabianski

Rashford had a great chance to open the scoring when through on goal but his clipped effort was straight at Fabianski

That said, Swansea are still without a goal and desperately need to spend money and keep Llorente. They did come close here, on four minutes with Eric Bailly's misjudgement allowing Jordan Ayew a clear run down the left.

Tammy Abraham waited but Ayew had an alternative, curling the ball goalwards off the inside of his foot to see the ball rebound off the cross bar. Even then, had Abraham adjusted his position quicker, he could have headed in the easiest of goals.

But Abraham and Ayew combined well and Swansea's first-half positional discipline was impressive, with Carroll, Leroy Fer and Roque Mesa rarely allowing United space. The visitors should have been ahead from a Juan Mata free-kick on 10 minutes, Phil Jones unmarked and rising above the ball from six yards out but directing it against the bar.

But they had to wait until 37 minutes for their next clear-cut chance, when a misplaced Alfie Mawson header let in Marcus Rashford. His speed in latching on to the chance was another indication of is potential while the limp, chipped finish into Lukasz Fabianski's hands was an illustration of his current limitations.

Romelu Lukaku fends off Federico Fernandez to hold up the ball for United as the visitors look to break again

Romelu Lukaku fends off Federico Fernandez to hold up the ball for United as the visitors look to break again

And United's £75m summer signing was in the thick of the action at the end of the second half as he got on the scoresheet

And United's £75m summer signing was in the thick of the action at the end of the second half as he got on the scoresheet

Played through by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the towering Belgian was left with a simple finish past Fabianski

Played through by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the towering Belgian was left with a simple finish past Fabianski

United's No 9 sold the Swansea goalkeeper with this shot - firing it the other way to his dive

United's No 9 sold the Swansea goalkeeper with this shot - firing it the other way to his dive

That goal was his third in two games for the Red Devils since joining from Premier League rivals Everton

That goal was his third in two games for the Red Devils since joining from Premier League rivals Everton

United would have their lead on the stroke of half-time from a Daley Blind corner. Pogba rose domineeringly to head the ball crashing against the underside of the bar. It rebounded onto the goal-line and Bailly, to his enormous credit, reacted with speed and aggression to prod it over the line as others dawdled.

They remained in control yet contained by their opponents until the 80th minute, when it suddenly became all too much for Swansea. A long, raking ball from Marouane Fellaini on 80 minutes was headed down by Lukaku, picked up by Martial and touched into the box by Mkhitaryan for Lukaku to finish, a third goal in two Premier League games at the start of his United career.

Two minutes later came Pogba's starring moment, a showcase of his talents. Alive to mistakes, he intercepted the ball, carried it through the midfield, exchanged passes with Mkhitaryan before deftly lifting it over Fabianski.

A minute after that there was Lukaku holding the ball up, Pogba driving yet again through the midfield to release Martial, who cut inside and scored. Swansea, who had held their own and yet then been eviscerated in almost the blink of an eye.

Pogba was dancing with delight after scoring a third goal for United just two minutes after Lukaku had made it 2-0

Pogba was dancing with delight after scoring a third goal for United just two minutes after Lukaku had made it 2-0

After a scintillating run, the France international scored with an exquisite chip over Fabianski on 82 minutes

After a scintillating run, the France international scored with an exquisite chip over Fabianski on 82 minutes

Pogba was beaming delight with Lukaku as the duo celebrate the former's excellent finish for United in Wales

Pogba was beaming delight with Lukaku as the duo celebrate the former's excellent finish for United in Wales

United added more gloss to the scoreline on the 84th minute when Anthony Martial scored a fourth

United added more gloss to the scoreline on the 84th minute when Anthony Martial scored a fourth

The United forward came off the bench to produce a brilliant run and finish into the bottom corner of the Swansea goal

The United forward came off the bench to produce a brilliant run and finish into the bottom corner of the Swansea goal

Martial clenches his fists in delight after scoring his second Premier League goal in two matches for the Red Devils this season

Martial clenches his fists in delight after scoring his second Premier League goal in two matches for the Red Devils this season

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