In Form Welbeck Secures United Win
Manchester United recorded their first win of 2014 as they defeated Swansea by two goals to nil at Old Trafford on Saturday in the late kick off.
Manchester United were looking to beat Swansea at Old Trafford more than ever due to Swansea winning this fixture in the FA Cup six days ago. On that occasion Swansea scored a late goal thanks to Wilfried Bony. However on this occasion the result was very different.
Swansea City once again dominated possession in their own 'Spanish style' play at Old Trafford, however Swansea didn't have many chances and they couldn't beat Nemanja Vidic's defensive line, nor could they beat the alert David de Gea.
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| Nemanja Vidic holding off Wilfried Bony |
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| Januzaj contributed significantly against Swansea |
Whereas Manchester United only had 39% possession, which is the lowest percentage that United have had in the Premier League since Opta stats began in 2006. Except Manchester United dominated in attacking chances and in the first half Adnan Januzaj had a fantastic chance to put them in front from a free kick just outside of the box but unfortunately for him and United his fantastic curling effort beat the keeper but it hit the crossbar.
Danny Welbeck then had a fantastic opportunity from seven yards out to also put United in the lead but the England international dragged his shot wide of the far right post. At half time the game was tied all square with no score.
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| Valencia calmly tucks away his and United's first goal of the game |
In the second half United upped the tempo straight away and it took just two minutes for them to score through a tap-in from Antonio Valencia after Shinji Kagawa's header was saved by Gerhard Tremmel from a nice bit off skill from Adnan Januzaj who managed to put in an inviting cross. This was Valencia's first goal at Old Trafford since he scored on Boxing Day 2011.
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| Valencia celebrates his goal |
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| Valencia celebrates with Januzaj |
In the fist half David Moyes called Danny Welbeck (Picture on the right) over to discuss a new tactic and it must of worked as Welbeck's passing, shooting a positioning improved significantly afterwards.
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| Welbeck flicks on Evra's shot to make it 2-0 |
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| Welbeck celebrates with Carrick and Evra |
Manchester United then went through a spell of Swansea dominating possession once again, however United created a counter attack after Adnan Januzaj intercepted Gerhard Tremmel's long throw. Shinji Kagawa then attacked for United and sprinted at the Swansea defence before offloading the ball back to Januzaj who crossed the back into the box which was cleared away only as far as Patrice Evra who scuffed his shot, but Danny Welbeck deflected it past Tremmel to double their lead twelve minutes later. Welbeck has now scored six goals in his last six games.
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| Welbeck celebrates |
Both Chris Smalling and Shinji Kagawa both had two great chances to extend United's lead from close range but neither had the finishing touch that both Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck possessed with their goals. Manchester United end their run of three consecutive defeats to win their first game of 2014 and remain in seventh place.
Manchester United
- 01 de Gea
- 02 Rafael
- 03 Evra (Büttner - 79' )
- 16 Carrick
- 12 Smalling
- 15 Vidic
- 25 Antonio Valencia
- 24 Fletcher
- 19 Welbeck (Hernández - 86' )
- 44 Januzaj
- 26 Kagawa
Substitutes
- 11 Giggs
- 13 Lindegaard
- 14 Hernández
- 23 Cleverley
- 28 Büttner
- 29 Zaha
- 35 Lingard
Swansea City
- 25 Tremmel
- 22 Rangel Booked
- 33 Davies
- 21 Cañas (Chico - 17' )
- 02 Amat
- 06 Williams
- 24 Pozuelo
- 07 Britton
- 10 Bony Booked
- 08 Shelvey (Alvaro - 63' )
- 15 Routledge
Substitutes
- 03 Taylor
- 04 Chico
- 13 Cornell
- 26 Alvaro
- 29 Richards
- 31 Lucas
- 41 Donnelly
Referee: Chris Foy
Attendance: 75,035
