Swansea condemn United to their first home opening day defeat since 1972
On a day when even the most optimistic of Swansea fans (like myself) was hoping, at best, for a score draw, results like yesterday's are that much sweeter. All the talk in the build up had been of Van Gaal's resurgent United, and given how the Swans had fared against Villareal a week prior there was genuine concern amongst Swansea fans, who had no idea which shape the Swans team would set up in.
Thankfully, we needn't have worried. The Monk went with our tried and tested 4-5-1, and it paid dividends. And then some. In our first season in the Premiership we gave as good as we got against most of the big teams by employing this system, and with the club now embarking on a fourth season in the biggest league in the world the overall calibre of our squad is undoubtedly far superior to when we first gained promotion from the Championship.
Monk had spoken at this week's fans forum of the need to evolve, to try different things... but I can't help but wonder if we can't just continue with 4-5-1. Why not? We had Gower, Leon & Joey when we first came up - with Leon, Ki, Jonjo & Sigurdsson to choose from now you'd be hard pushed to argue we aren't better off than when we came up, while comparing Bony to Danny Graham would be equal parts pointless and irrelevant. All over the pitch we're stronger than when we started our life in the Premiership, so why shouldn't an improved 4-5-1 with better players be a match for most Premiership sides?
Against United yesterday, that's exactly what happened. A brief spell at the beginning of the second half apart, Van Gaal's 3-5-2 never really upset the Swans. We looked so, so comfortable at times in our shape and system, and our first goal truly was a joy to behold. The Swans sat back, drew United out, and sucked up the pressure. Tika-taka-ing our way around the field, a sweeping move bore fruit when Ki latched onto a Sigurdsson pass to stroke the ball home with his left foot from the edge of the area. It was the culmination of a twenty-eight pass move that had pulled United all over the pitch, and it's hard to remember a goal I enjoyed more to be honest.
We made it to half-time one-nil up, before after the break Rooney quickly equalised from a Phil Jones flick-on from a corner. An acrobatic bicycle-kick, it was perhaps fair as even though the Swans had looked mostly comfortable United had enjoyed more possession and shots - even if they hadn't fashioned too many clear cut chances.
This was Swansea's day though. We perhaps rode our luck for a while after the goal but some resolute defending - Ashley Williams was at his absolute best while Jordi Amat was anonymous (which I always think is a good thing for a centre-back) - meant the scores were still tied when, in the 72nd minute, some good work from substitute Jefferson Montero saw Routledge free at the back post. His scuffed volley fell to Sigurdsson, and the ice-cool Icelander [sorry] did what he does best - stroking the ball home to make it 2-1 to the Swans.
A word on Sigurdsson. He was absolutely incredible yesterday - and not just for his ability on the ball. He worked himself into the ground, covering space and making United hurry their passes, and he showed exactly why he prefers playing in behind the striker. Another comment Monk made at the fan's forum is that the reason certain players stayed on the pitch against Villarreal was to get match fitness, so it perhaps isn't wise to read too much into the formation we played that day. Especially given how effective Gylfi looked in his natural role - it'd be hard to see us moving him to any other position now given our choice of three fit wingers.
United did have chances. Rooney hit the outside of the post with a free-kick before our second, while we were lucky Angel Rangel wasn't penalised when the ball rose up and hit his arm right at the death. If Ferguson had been in charge I'm pretty sure that would have been given. It was Swansea's day though, and nothing Van Gaal or his charges could do would change that. An incredible result, and with Burnley and West Brom now to come at home we could realisitcally get some good points on the board over the next few weeks.
The most pleasing thing about yesterday was the manner of the football. People were looking for space, giving the ball and moving ten yards to give an option, and everything looked so natural. Everyone in that system knows their role explicitly now (except maybe Jeff, but why would you try and rein in someone with that much pace?!), and realistically there's no reason we won't get stronger and stronger as the season goes on.
As a fan movingly stated at the fan's forum on Thursday:
"We've got our Swansea back."