Man United 1 Swansea 2: Player ratings as Van Gaal makes losing start
Man United 1 Swansea 2: Player ratings as Louis van Gaal makes a losing start to his Red Devils reign
Manchester United
David De Gea The United goalkeeper could have done better with the second Swansea goal. 5/10
Chris Smalling Not his finest afternoon, and the England international looked uncomfortable in a back three. 4
Phil Jones Struggled defensively and didn’t pick up a man for either goal but did make a couple of good last-ditch challenges. The centre-half’s flick on led to Rooney making it 1-1. 5
Tyler Blackett Struggled against Sigurdsson as the Swans broke the deadlock and nowhere to be seen for the second. 4
Ashley Young Poor delivery and left Routledge unmarked at the back post in the build up to Swansea’s second. 4
Darren Fletcher Closed down well but didn’t impact the game enough in central midfield. 5
Ander Herrera Tidy in the middle of the park but not spectacular enough. 6
Jesse Lingard Substituted early on with a knee injury. N/A
Wayne Rooney Wanted the ball but not involved enough in the first half but took his goal superbly and far better as the lone striker as United attempted a comeback. 7
Juan Mata Not really involved in the first half except for some good set-pieces and set up Rooney with his corner. 5
Javier Hernandez A willing runner but didn’t get the service, subbed at half-time. 5
Substitutes
Adnan Januzaj A real threat in the early stages of the second half but faded. 5
Nani Looked too casual on the wing and didn’t have an impact. 4
Marouane Fellaini Came on and committed a couple of fouls but little impact otherwise. 4
Swansea City
Lukasz Fabianski Couple of decent first-half saves but mostly from range and little to do otherwise. 6
Neil Taylor Beaten too easily in the build up to the corner which led to the leveller. Booked and subbed as he struggled against Januzaj. 5
Ashley Williams (Man of the match) An absolute rock at the heart of the Swansea defence, tackling and clearing everything. A fantastic display. 9
Jordi Amat Solid performance alongside Wales international Williams. 7
Angel Rangel Kept Young quiet on the left wing. 7
Jonjo Shelvey Kept things ticking over when Swansea had the ball. Did pick up a booking. 6
Ki Sung-yueng Good finish to open the scoring and looked so composed at all times, rarely gave the ball away. 8
Nathan Dyer Lively at both ends. Rightly booked but failed to really trouble a shaky looking home defence. Subbed. 6
Gylfi Sigurdsson Set up Ki for the goal and took his superbly. Constantly wanted the ball behind Bony. 7
Wayne Routledge Box-to-box on the wing and helped out his defenders well, smartly knocked it down to Sigurdsson to retake the lead. 6
Wilfried Bony Not involved but blocked off well to allow Ki to score. 6
Substitutes
Dwight Tiendalli Did well coming in for Taylor in the second half. 6
Jefferson Montero Looked lively and ran well with the ball at his feet. 6
Bafetimbi Gomis Competed well in the air, not enough time to make an impact. 5
