Swansea welcomed Manchester United to the Liberty Stadium for their round of 16 clash in the Carabao Cup. Jose Mourinho’s side headed into this game following a shock defeat to Huddersfield at the weekend and the Red Devils were looking to bounce back quickly and remind everyone of just how talented a squad they possess. Interestingly Swansea’s only home win of the season in the Premier League came against Huddersfield, but the Swans’ difficult start to the campaign meant they needed a positive result in this game to really kick start their season.
Lingard leaves Swans in his dust
It was a cagey start to the game with both sides getting a feel for the conditions and the occasion. One of the criticisms of Mourinho’s side in recent weeks has been that they fail to create enough clear-cut chances, and that pattern seemed to continue in the opening 20 minutes of this game. Despite the pace of Martial, Lingard and Rashford up front the visitors didn’t look to play many balls in behind the Swansea defence early on and their build-up play was largely sluggish.
Swansea on the other hand targeted United defender Victor Lindelof, who was arguably at fault for both of Huddersfield’s goals at the weekend. The Swedish centre half again looked shaky, failing to deal with an aerial ball and almost allowing Jordan Ayew to nip in and score.
However it was Manchester United who opened the scoring after 20 minutes, on the first occasion that one of their forwards managed to find a gap behind the Swansea defence. The ball was fizzed in to Marcus Rashford’s feet and the striker flicked it round a defender into the path of the onrushing Jesse Lingard who had split the central defenders. The English winger breezed past Mawson and Van der Hoorn and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to give his side the lead.
Swansea struggle to get back into the game
The United goal prompted a good response from Swansea and the home side were almost gifted a goal when Daley Blind headed the ball against the thigh of Oliver McBurnie, which saw it ricochet towards goal but bounce a few yards wide. Wayne Routledge experienced a lot of success down the right hand side and made strides into the United penalty area on a few occasions, though the winger couldn’t provide a good enough final product.
Swansea continued to push for an equaliser as half time approached and Sam Clucas almost squeezed a curling shot into the bottom corner but the ball trickled just wide of the post. Manchester United began to provide somewhat of a threat on the counter but it was the home side who had the best chance just before half time when young striker McBurnie fired over the bar. The shot was to be the last kick of the first half and United went into the break holding a slim one-goal lead.
Lingard lights up the Liberty
It was Swansea who came out looking brighter in the second half and the home side maintained large spells of possession in front of Manchester United’s well-drilled defensive line. The tempo of the game was incredibly low and a number of fouls broke up play to such an extent that genuine attacking play became a rarity. Tammy Abraham began warming up as soon as the second half started and most of stadium, along with this correspondent, hoped the striker would make an appearance sooner rather than later.
Thankfully a goal came without the need of a substitution, but for Swansea it made the task of getting back into the game that much harder. Matteo Darmian picked up the ball on the right wing and played what looked to be a relatively poor cross in towards Lingard. However the winger managed to manufacture a superb goal, blasting in a powerful header past Nordfeldt almost from the edge of the box. It was a sensational finish and the goal not only doubled United’s lead but also doubled Lingard’s tally for the game.
Manchester United cruise to victory
Following the goal Mourinho decided to bring on Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic, and their arrival signalled a shift in United’s approach and confidence. The Red Devils began to dominate the possession and youngster Axel Tuanzebe had a glorious chance to put the game out of sight but he somehow managed to put the ball over the bar from three yards out.
As the clock ticked down it became a simple battle between Swansea’s attackers and United’s defence, and this was a conflict that the visitors were always destined to win. It was difficult to tell in this game whether the home side were simply toothless in offence or whether Mourinho’s side were well drilled at the back, but another clean sheet was well deserved for the Manchester club and they now progress to the quarterfinals.
Final Thoughts
For Swansea this was another instance of struggling to create chances at home and Paul Clement will be disappointed that his side didn’t give Manchester United more of a challenge, especially as the visitors were nowhere near their best on the night. With the Swans struggling in the league and now seeing their League Cup run come to an end it is essential that they find a good run of form soon.
It ended up being a relatively simple victory for Manchester United but they once again looked laboured and sluggish in much of their attacking play. Having started the season in blistering form it will be worrying for Jose Mourinho that his side have look so uninspiring of late. In matches of this calibre United can cruise and still come away with a positive result, but with some big games coming up in the Premier League they will need to be back at their best if they want to challenge for the title.
Match Report
Swansea: Nordfeldt; Rangel, Van der Hoorn, Mawson, Olsson (Naughton, 39’); Ki Sung-Yueng, Clucas, Mesa (Fer, 67’), J. Ayew, McBurnie (Abraham, 72’), Routledge
Manchester United: Romero; Darmian, Lindelof, Smalling, Blind; Tuanzebe, Herrera (Matic, 67’), Lingard, McTominay, Martial (Shaw, 87’); Rashford (Lukaku, 67’)
Goals: Lingard (0-1, 21’), Lingard (0-2, 59’)
Referee: Robert Madley
Yellow Cards: Rangel (38’), Clucas (56’), Ki Sung-Yueng (70’), Tuanzebe (75’), Blind (79’)
Red Cards: None
Player Ratings
Swansea: Nordfeldt 6; Rangel 6, Van der Hoorn 6, Mawson 6, Olsson n/a (Naughton 6); Ki Sung-yueng 6, Clucas 7, Mesa 6 (Fer 6), J. Ayew 7, McBurnie 6 (Abraham 7), Routledge 7
Manchester United: Romero 7; Darmian 7.5, Lindelof 6.5, Smalling 7, Blind 7; Tuanzebe 7, Herrera 7 (Matic 7), Lingard 9, McTominay 7, Martial 7 (Shaw n/a); Rashford 7.5 (Lukaku 6)
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