Swansea City 1 Manchester United 4 – Five talking points

A brand new Premier League season does nothing to stop Manchester United as they start off with a traditional swagger at the Liberty Stadium. Although the scoreline would suggest a hammering from the away side, things were pretty even until Robin van Persie decided to dismantle a resolute Swansea side.

Here are the few takeaways for both the sides from their opening fixture of the league:

1. United did little to earn this resounding win

It does look like one of the obvious United victories to savour when referee Phil Dowd blew the final whistle, yet it would be unfair to call it anything more than a freak result. While David Moyes ahead of the game said that it may take him around 2 years before he could stamp his impression on the United side, his signature tactical makeshifts were still visible on their first day of the title defence.

United, for starters, opted to start with Welbeck and Van Persie upfront and it soon panned out to be a system where the former was utilized as a deep-lying gamebreaker to curb Swansea’s midfield dominance. Moyes’ outfit always looked uncomfortable in keeping possession against a high-pressing home side. Tom Cleverley and Michael Carrick, who are not know for their possession retaining abilities, also looked vulnerable against a side that traded most of the possession. In fact, any possible breakthrough looked improbable until Van Persie found space behind the Swansea backline to smash an outstanding goal. Overall, from whatever we saw on Moyes’s first day out looked rather cavalier and experimental approach that might have faltered on any other day.

The only positive from the game on the tactical front would be the way United back-four negotiated the aerial threat posed by Michu and newbie Wilfried Bony.

Yet, when one looks at the daunting fixture list and the arrival of the Special One with his special team at Old Trafford next week, Moyes will have to reconsider his supporting plot to launch the RvP onslaught.

2. A clinical Van Persie show never ceases to amaze the United faithful

The Dutchman, on the season opener, had his own little milestone of 50 appearances for the Reds to celebrate with his trademark aplomb. While his first goal was purely down to some acrobatic genius, the second was a pile-driver that typified the talismanic stature he has been for the defending champions for the last one year. What stood out in this particular outing was that when United were looking periodically rattled by the exuberant home side, it were the few moments of genius conjured by Van Persie that sealed the three points for the side.

No doubt, Moyes would wish his ace marksman would go on to hit extravagant benchmarks this season, Van Persie’s second season at United may well be all about delivering in the moments of desperation. Today could just be one of those many days in the season.

3. Laudrup shouldn’t be worried of this freak loss

It’s tough to digest a loss for a manager after having watched his team keep the ball and make a good use of it. After being able to create 17 chances (2 more than United) throughout the game, it was pretty evident that the game was decided on how clinical the two sides were in front of goal.

Laudrup has every right to be disappointed of the result that could have gone either way, yet not much to be worried about. On the more realistic terms, a fixture against United, on the first day of the season, was never going present a favourable percentage of winning points. Moreover, the distribution and some emphatic wing-play should do enough to build on for the next few fixtures for the Danish manager.

4. Newly bred Swans does belong to the Premier League pasture

After acquiring the most valued Premier League scalp of last season in the form of Michu, Swansea will always be on the European watchlist for their sheer ability to find the rare bargains in the current transfer market.

And from whatever we’ve witnessed during the effective stints of Wilfried Bony and midfielder Jose Canas, it seems the Welsh club have got it right again. Both the players on the home debut did have an impact on the game as Canas was pretty much successful in winning the central midfield battle.

Also, Bony’s pace and aerial prowess inside the box offers intriguing possibilities with Michu being the ideal striking partner. The Ivorian’s well-taken goal on debut should also do its bit in helping his confidence, even if it had little to do with the end result of the game.

5. Has Rooney really moved on from the transfer drama?

While social media already buzzing with Rooney’s on-field pictures underlining his discontent at the club, it has does little to shake off his progress on his return from injury. After playing for around 65 minutes for the national side in the midweek, Rooney still had enough in the tank to set up two goals in the closing stages of the game.

The highlight of his late run-in was his deceptive side-cutting run that lured the Swansea backline away from the ball – opening up space for Van Persie to finish with a crisp strike.

Although the media headlines have been suggesting the Englishman is yearning for a move away from Manchester, the club has already made their stance clear on retaining their best players for the season. And if that is any indicator to go ahead it with, Rooney may have to move on and compete for his spot ahead of the crunch games setup in the next few weeks.