Van Gaal; the future is deem
Manchester United began their season
with a whimper as Gylfi Sigurdsson gate-crashed Louis van Gaal's Premier League
bow at Old Trafford.
New United captain Wayne Rooney
thought he had grabbed a point for the hosts with an over-head kick following
Ki Sung-Yueng's opener.
But Sigurdsson, making his second
debut for the Swans, beat David De Gea from 15 yards to give Garry Monk's team
a shock 2-1 win.
Van Gaal said going into the match
he was not nervous about the task of bringing the glory days back to Old
Trafford following last year's dismal showing under David Moyes.
But the Dutchman will surely have
reservations about his squad's ability having seen what transpired during his
first taste of Premier League action.
Moyes may have gone, but the same
problems remain for United.
They lacked a cutting edge up front
and their passing was sloppy at times.
But the main concern for Van Gaal
will be in defense. Both Sigurdsson and Ki were unmarked when they beat De Gea.
There was a clear lack of
organisation at times in defence, with Phil Jones and Chris Smalling both
looking out of their comfort zone on several occasions thanks to Swansea's
enterprising play and neat passing.
United were crying out for the
experienced heads they lost this summer.
The defeat to Swansea, who are among
the favourites to go down, suggests Van Gaal desperately needs defensive
reinforcements, and the quicker he moves in the transfer market, the better.
A wave of noise greeted Van Gaal and
his players as they emerged from the tunnel to signal the start of a new
chapter in United's rich history.
Any of the 75,339 fans inside Old
Trafford expecting a lightning start to this Premier League season were left
disappointed as a dull opening 15 minutes ensued.
Van Gaal was left to reflect on an
opening day defeat Swansea did manage to test United's new-look three-man defence
on a couple of occasions.
Wayne Routledge raced on to Jonjo
Shelvey's through-ball, but David De Gea came to the rescue.
Routledge then gave Jones the slip
down United's right, but his cross was cut out just before Wilfried Bony could
convert.
Rooney led by example as he tried to
drag United into the game. The new United captain tore around the pitch, but
his two first-half attempts on goal were weak.
Jesse Lingard, making his full
United debut, was replaced by Adnan Januzaj after injuring his right foot in a
challenge with Ashley Williams.
Finally, with 24 minutes on the
clock, Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was tested for the first time when
he saved Jones' blistering shot after a clever one-two with Juan Mata.
Then, four minutes later, Old Trafford
fell silent as Swansea took the lead.
Blackett was drawn out of position
by Nathan Dyer, who laid the ball off to Sigurdsson. The Iceland international
squared to Ki, who fired the ball past a diving De Gea.
Bony played an important part in the
goal, blocking Jones as he rushed out to challenge the South Korean goal
scorer.
Van Gaal's men rallied briefly, but
in truth United were hanging on towards the end of the first half.
Van Gaal sought to inject life into
his team by bringing Nani on for the ineffective Javier Hernandez, who started
up front ahead of the unfit Robin van Persie.
Rooney fired in a close-range
bicycle kick to level the scores Within eight minutes of the restart the hosts
were level. Jones climbed well to flick on Mata's corner and Rooney
acrobatically swept the ball past Fabianski.
Raucous celebrations ensued on the
United bench, but Van Gaal simply recorded the goal on his notepad and looked
up with a blank expression.
He wanted a second, but Swansea
would not relent.
Sometimes the Welsh side went too
far in their attempts to stop the hosts, who were now in full flow.
Neil Taylor went in to the book for
hacking down Januzaj and Mike Dean also issued a caution to Shelvey for kicking
the ball away following a late tackle on Mata.
Rooney turned Williams with an
exquisite bit of skill, but the Swansea captain recovered to deny the England
striker.
Rooney then came agonisingly close
to putting United ahead with a brilliant free-kick.
After being hacked down by Jordi
Almat on the edge of the area, the United captain curled a looping shot up and
over the wall, but unfortunately for Van Gaal, the ball struck the frame and
bounced wide.
Rooney cursed his luck, but worse
news was to follow for the United captain.
In the 72nd minute, Routledge
mis-hit Jefferson Montero's cross. Fortunately for Swansea, the ball fell at
the feet of Sigurdsson, who bundled the ball past De Gea.
United were stretched at the back as
they looked for a second equaliser. Bony slipped in behind, but Jones got back
just in time.
With five minutes left, the fans
behind the United dugout started filing out. They had seen enough.
United had a late penalty appeal
turned down, but Dean waved play on and Swansea held on for their first league
win at Old Trafford.
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