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MOTD: Manchester United 1-2 Swansea City

By on August 16, 2014

Just the fact that Manchester United started their opening match of the season with a back three of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Tyler Blackett, who was earning his senior competitive debut today, should have been a warning sign to United fans that nothing will come easy for them. United have spent all summer preparing for just this moment, brining in multiple “successful” signings such as Ander Herrera, but failed to find one huge gaping hole – their utter lack of any experienced defenders. Granted, they were lacking multiple starters like Luke Shaw, yet it still shows that there will be no short term fix for them. In the end, Blackett was largely responsible for allowing Swansea’s second goal of the night. Louis Van Gaal himself has admitted that his transformation of the club will take time – only now does it seem as if United fans might grasp that success won’t just run around their way once more just because they are Manchester United.

The club had been all over Van Gaal’s 3-5-2, or 3-4-1-2 formation that supposedly reinvented their side, only for Van Gaal to switch to a 4-2-3-1 at halftime and eventually a 4-4-2 by putting Marouane Fellaini up front late on. It seemed as if United failed to accomplish anything in pre-season. Jesse Lingard, another questionable start from Van Gaal, allowed Wayne Routledge room for a dangerous first-half chance; Ki Sung-yueng’s first half opener for Swansea twenty-seven minutes in was just the start. The Red Devil’s channel through Adnan Januzaj was quickly shut down as Swansea recognized the threat and moved a second man back to cover. United were being tactically shut down by Swansea.

Wayne Rooney equalized by acrobatically turning a Phil Jones’ flick on from a Juan Mata corner in via an overhead kick early on in the second half, and as United pushed forward everything still looked peachy. However, Smalling was caught out by a quickly taken free-kick, and Jefferson Montero got in behind him down the left before send a cross in, which Routledge had all the space and time to finish after Blackett let him creep in behind him at the far post. His shot was mistimed but it fell to Gylfi Sigurdsson, who slammed a six yard effort, also completely unmarked, through David De Gea into the back of the net. It was a showcase of United’s defensive troubles.

United simply didn’t seem to know what to do on the ball, resorting to playing it around the back or sending it through their midfield, who simply lacked creativity. Their squad seemed like a bunch of players simply thrown together last minute, without check and balance at all. And even Van Gaal admitted he just needs “better players”. Neither Ed Woodward or the Dutch manager came off good tonight. They simply need more signings like Juan Mata, world class players, and a patching of their gaping holes. Tonight just seemed all to much like Moyes II – breaking more records as United recorded their first loss in a home opener since 1972.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.