Swansea vs Manchester United: Player ratings

Robin van Persie (C) scores the opening goal

David Moyes first match in the Premier League as Manchester United‘s manager ended on a glorious note thanks to a brace from Danny Welbeck and Robin Van Persie. Both of them scored one goal in each half and ended the match with a 4-1 scoreline. Swansea pulled one back through Wilfried Bony but that wasn’t enough to beat the champions. All you can say is Robin Van Persie is on form and Danny Welbeck is on fires. A great start to the Moyes era. Have a look at the player ratings in the match:

Swansea

Michael Vorm : 6/10 – Couldn’t do much about any of the goals. The defence in front of him was rather poor and he could just watch the balls going into the net. Even then, he made a couple of saves.

Angel Rangel : 7.5/10 – He was Swansea’s best performer of the night. He put in an industrious performance and attacked with some venom. He was always available on the right wing even though he was the right back. He kept Evra quiet for major part of the match.

Chico Flores : 6/10 – Alongside Ashley Williams, he was really put to task against Manchester United’s attack. Robin Van Persie easily outfoxed him for the 3rd goal. He put up a poor showing in the heart of the defense.

Ashley Williams : 5/10 – Just like Chico Flores, he too had a really poor game. Danny Welbeck and Robin Van Persie broke into the defense quite easily and had an easy outing tonight. He was at fault for both the first and second goal and could do nothing against the finesse and guile of Van Persie.

Ben Davies : 6/10 – He put in average performance. As the match progressed he started losing out to Valencia who became increasingly effective . His failure to mark Valencia resulted in him setting up the second goal for Welbeck.

A.J.Canas : 7/10 – Early in the match, he dictated the proceedings and played very well. He showed that he could become one of the more influential players in the Swansea side. Controlled the tempo of the game and created chances for Michu. Michael Laudrup has made an excellent signing in him. A very good performance. Was substituted for Ki towards the end of the game.

Leon Britton : 6/10 – Linked up well with Canas and Michu but wasn’t good enough to split the defense. Looked a bit effective in the first but faded as United started controlling the game. Was substituted for Bony at halftime.

Jonjo Shelvey : 7/10 – He was Swansea’s best player in the first half. He linked up very well with Michu and created chances for him. He even took on the defenders and slipped past them with ease. He seems to have regained his form and looks like he will play an important part this season.

Wayne Routledge : 6.5/10 : Played with intent on the left wing for the first half. He linked well with the forwards and even had a shot on target saved by De Gea after beating Rio Ferdinand. Was substituted at halftime for Pablo Hernandez.

Nathan Dyer : 6.5/10 : He did trouble Evra towards the end of the game with his pace on the right wing but he looked out of sorts in the first half and couldn’t create an impact even though he linked up with Michu. An average pergormance.

Michu : 7/10 – He played his routine way by getting in between the centre backs and making the late runs. Even though he got the service from the midfielders, Vidic’s tight marking allowed him little space and he couldn’t get his shots awa properly.

Subs :

Wilfried Bony : 7.5/10 – Came in at the start of the second half for Routledge. He couldn’t do much till the closing stages when he just hit a header wide but minutes later got his name on the scoresheet after putting an easy one past David De Gea. His future looks bright.

Pablo Hernandez : 7.5/10 Came in for Britton alongwith Bony at the start of the second half. He played well throughout the half constantly troubling Phil Jones and put in dangerous crosses which were wasted by the forwards. However he finally got an assist when he put Bony through on goal.

Ki Sueng-Yeng : N/A: Had too little time to make his mark on the game.

Manchester United

David de Gea : 6/10 : A routine show from the Spaniard. Had nothing much to do except for a couple of easy saves and few corners. Got his ankle injured during the match in a collision with Michu but just continuued.

Phil Jones : 6/10 – He looked totally out of sorts in the beginning of the game, wasting possession, making rash tackles and losing out on 1on1s. But as the game progressed he improved his stability and defended well.

Rio Ferdinand : 6/10 – Age seems to be catching up really fast with him. In the first half, he was easily outpaced by Routledge and was caught unaware in possession. But he seemed to get back on his feet in the second half even though he was partly responsible for the goal conceded. He is a liability in big games.

Nemanja Vidic : 7/10 – A very good performance by the captain who was at his usual best commanding the team, organizing the defence and taking on the forward. He was the only one who could match Mcihu’s physical and Aerial prowess. Thus he kept Michu quiet for most of the game.

Patrice Evra: 7/10 - The defensive part of his game was usual where he was beaten by his marker a few times and gave away fouls. But his attacking was impressive. He was very good going forward and supported the attack ably on the left as the wingers started to drift more centrally.

Michael Carrick : 7.5/10 – The routine calm and composed performance from Michael Carrick at the heart of the midfield. He was comfortable in possession, won the ball a few times and never gave the ball away. Even though his passing wasn’t impeccable, it was very good and rarely missed the target. He was the mainstay of the team.

Tom Cleverly : 7.5/10 : An industrious performance from the youngster. He was all over the pitch, always wanting the ball and increased the pace of the game. His defensive contribution was very good too. Looked very comfortable playing alongside Carrick.

Antonio Valencia: 7.5/10 : The change of shirt certainly seemed to have an effect on his performance. Rather than staying on the touchlines, he drifted into the center and linked up well with Welbeck and Van Persie. He earned himself an assist after controlling Evra’s cross and crossing it into Welbeck. He tracked back well and seems to have improved his aerial ability as he won many of his headers against Davies.

Ryan Giggs : 7/10 – A good performance from Ryan Giggs but wasn’t very effective. He slowed the pace of the game and drifted into the center as the game progressed. He did have some nice touches on the ball but failed to create an impact on the game. Substituted for Wayne Rooney in the 61st minute.

Danny Welbeck : 8.5/10 – An inspired performance from the youngster. Looked like he carried on from where he left against Scotland and scored two goals. His first goal was an easy tap in scored immediately after Robin Van Persie fired home in the 35th minute. Was full of energy throughout the match; ready to take on players. Got into some very good positions and finished the game with a cheeky chip over Michael Vorm in stoppage time after Rooney put him through on goal.

Robin Van Persie : 9/10 – There seems to be no stopping this man. A brace in the first two games this season and who knows what’s coming up. He played with finesse and class. The first can be called ‘ a standing bicycle kick’ which he did with his right foot. The second was one from outside the box where he outfoxed the defender before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net. He was United’s best performer of the night. Substituted for Anderson in the 82nd minuted

Subs

Wayne Rooney : 7/10 – He finally made an appearance for United after all these rumours. A 30-minute cameo in which he earned two assists even though he didn’t look at the top of his game. Came in the 61st minute for Ryan Giggs and played the final 10 minutes in his favoured striker role as Van Persie was substituted for Anderson.

Anderson : N/A – he played for just 10 minutes behind Rooney and couldn’t do much as they were trying to kill the game by retaining possession.