Right before kickoff at Old Trafford, a palpable sense of excitement and expectation from Louis van Gaal and his men hung in the air, but the tumult gave way to a familiar sense of déjà vu as Ki Sueng Yeung slammed in an excellent strike to the bottom corner of a helpless David De Gea’s goal almost half an hour into the contest.
The atmosphere soon went from expectant to fearful as Swansea started to express themselves more freely, with Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer looking to exploit United’s weakness in the wide areas by getting into the space left behind by Ashley Young and impressive debutant Jesse Lingard.
It was the latter who brought most to the Red Devils’ attack, troubling Neil Taylor down the left hand side with his pace and movement. A painful challenge by Ashley Williams, however, left Lingard limping off the pitch with an ankle knock after just 23 minutes; replaced by Adnan Januzaj, who wore Ryan Giggs' iconic number 11 jersey for the first time.
United comfortably dominated possession, but problems came, surprisingly, from an area where they were considered the strongest- Rooney, Hernandez and Mata were kept quiet by a diligent Swansea back four led by Ashley Williams, who defended uncompromisingly to ensure that the Swans went into half time the happier side.
Watching on from his seat next to Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal abandoned the 3-4-1-2 for a classic 4-2-3-1 in the second half, bringing Nani on for Hernandez and playing Ashley Young and Phil Jones as left and right fullbacks respectively.
The gamble seemed to be paying off, as Adnan Januzaj won a corner from yet another foray down the left hand side. Mata's delivery was headed on by Jones to Rooney, who improvised and struck a wonderful overhead kick into the bottom corner right in front of a rapturous Stretford End.
A half time comeback seemed to be on the cards, with Rooney and Mata more involved in the attack. Januzaj was particularly impressive, stretching the visitors' defence with his pace and trickery.
Yet just as United looked as if they would indeed end the afternoon with three points, new signing Jefferson Montero's cross was mis hit by Wayne Routledge. It fell to Gylfi Sigurdsson, who made no mistake, giving Swansea the lead once more.
And it was to stay that way, with Swansea thwarting late pressure from the Red Devils, who began to send it long and into the box to Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera's replacement. Neither impacted the game very much.
Bafetimbi Gomis, the new signing from Lyon also gave fans an exciting glimpse as to what may lie ahead with an impressive display as the lone striker. He may have scored, if not for an excellent last ditch tackle by Phil Jones, who was excellent at the right side of defence. Tyler Blackett too continued his impressive rise under van Gaal, with a calm and unaffected performance on his league debut.
For all their dominance on the ball, United's latest disappointing loss is perhaps a blessing in disguise. The squad desperately needs a top quality centre back and experienced cover for Luke Shaw, as well as a top quality winger as Nani's performance showed. Its still to early to say, but Manchester United must act soon to avoid another debacle. As for Swansea, the future looks pretty bright.
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