Manchester United vs Swansea a few quick thoughts
Dan Tracey
May 1, 2017
1,751 Views
- It’s pretty much as you were for both teams as Manchester United and Swansea had to make do with a share of the points yesterday at Old Trafford
- United will feel fortunate that cross town rivals Manchester City failed to take advantage after their draw with Middlesbrough a couple of hours later
- What it does mean though is that it has opened the door for Liverpool to once again put qualification in the Champions League into their own hands
- They play tonight away at Watford knowing a win puts them back in the box seat
- United still have the back door Europa League entry route to rely on, so it’s not quite a crisis for Jose Mourinho’s men but they will surely be disappointed in having to settle for another home draw yesterday lunchtime
- As for their opponents Swansea they certainly started the brighter as both of their key men Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente had early opportunities to break the deadlock
- If you did not know any better then you would think it was Swansea in the top 6 they were the started much brighter out of the blocks
- They dominated United in midfield early on as they opted for a diamond setup which was too much to deal for Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick
- So much so that Wayne Rooney was having to track back as part of a midfield three, is in turn left Marcus Rashford isolated up front
- But it would be Rashford who was caught up in the most contentious decision of the game
- He was given somewhat of a questionable penalty after Lukasz Fabianski charged out of the goal
- The Polish ‘keeper was adamant that he did not make contact with the United forward
- But unfortunately Referee Neil Swarbrick felt otherwise and awarded the spot kick
- It was harsh on Swansea to say the least
- Just the kind of decisions you don’t need when you are at the bottom of the table
- Wayne Rooney stepped up and duly obliged as he put the home side ahead
- A hammer blow just before the half time break
- But Swansea were not to be deterred, this was already a weakened United side especially in defence and it would be weaker still when they would lose both Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly to injury
- For Shaw it’s another frustrating setback for the player and one that surely brings an end to his stint at Old Trafford
- While for Bailly it means that United now have no fit recognised centre backs going into their huge clash with Arsenal this Sunday
- And it’s even bigger due to Swansea’s talisman Sigurdsson earning them a deserved point
- Swansea were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box with 11 minutes
- Sigurdsson had to pull rank to take it but Paul Clement would have been glad he did as he curled a sublime effort past David De Gea
- Ander Herrera needs to be questioned after firstly being on the post and then joining the wall
- But the free kick was that good that even with Herrera there it would have made no real difference
- A thoroughly deserved goal for Swansea and justice for the earlier penalty award
- Hull fans watching would have been bemoaning their own luck
- They must have thought that their draw with Southampton would have seen them end the weekend three points clear of The Swans
- But credit has to go to the South Wales outfit as they earned a spirited draw to keep the gap at two with three games left to play
- For United all eyes now go to Thursday as they take on Celta Vigo. Jose Mourinho needs to make sure he does not waste the golden opportunity presented to him
- If they can get a comfortable first leg advantage then it takes the pressure off of Sunday by a couple of notches
- A 25 game unbeaten run in the league but certainly not one of folklore
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