With Liverpool coming from behind and securing a 2-1 win away at Selhurst Park in the early kickoff, the pressure was on United to get a result and get back the second place in the Premier League table. And boy did the boys deliver. A collect and always-in-control performance saw United beat Swansea 2-0 and move back into second place.
DAVE SAVES
With seven Premier League games yet to go, David De Gea has already surpassed his personal best of clean sheets in the Premier League with his 16th shutout of the campaign. And while it was one of the calmer afternoons in goal for the Spaniard, he pulled out an astonishing double save from Tammy Abraham in the second half. Business as usual for the best goalkeeper in the world.
MILESTONE MAN
Romelu Lukaku’s opener meant that he finally got his 100th Premier League goal. It was his fifteenth in the league this season and is on course for second consecutive 20 goal haul in the top flight. It should have been expected for the man in red hot form: Lukaku has now scored in 11 times this calendar year for United. He’s four away from achieving a 30 goal campaign in his maiden year at United, some achievement for any player.
THE MATA EFFECT
Juan Mata starts, United don’t lose. I am not saying that, it’s the stats: the only game United have lost this term with Mata starting is against Huddersfield earlier in the season.
While he might not be getting eye popping numbers, his impact on the game often goes unnoticed. Mata was again instrumental with his pinpoint passing and his off ball running. The latter was effective in creating space for players like Lingard, Lukaku and Sanchez to work with. Prior to the Swansea game, United won an astonishing 82% games with him starting. That number drops to a dismal 42% when he doesn’t. Instrumental.
SOLID PERFORMANCE FROM LINDELOF
It is fair to say that Victor Lindelof has grown in to the Premier League since that dismal afternoon at Huddersfield in autumn. Lindelof had a solid game at the back once again and has given Mourinho another selection headache ahead of the pivotal Manchester Derby next weekend. Lindelof’s numbers stood out too with an impressive 97% of his passes finding a teammate.
Lindelof V Swansea:
Passing Accuracy: 97.3%
Blocked Shots: 1
Interceptions: 3
Clearances: 3
Total Passes: 78
SANCHEZ AT HOME
While he started his United career with two Man of the Match performances, Sanchez for the large part was a pale shadow himself from the previous campaign. But he put in an excellent performance against the Welsh side and was lively from the off. Hardworking, positive and working hard for the team to win the ball back, he had everything including the goal and the assist. It was a well taken goal for the Chilean who beat the keeper from outside the box. He also found Lukaku with a neat pass for the opener.
COACH CARRAS
While he wasn’t named on the bench against Swansea, club captain Michael Carrick was present on the bench alongside Mourinho in a coaching role for the first time in his career. Carrick is hanging up his boots at the end of the season and joining the coaching team next term. But it looks like Mourinho is accelerating that process and wants to give the Englishman an experience on the bench ahead of the end of the season. It is expected that he will get more opportunities before the dust settles on this term.