Analysis: Swansea City 1 Manchester United 1

Premier League, Sunday 23^rd December 2012

Manchester United’s first draw of the season came after a hard-fought battle at the Liberty Stadium. Patrice Evra’s opener was cancelled out by the prolific Michu. United then failed to capitalise on second half domination as Swansea worked hard to defend their goal. Here are some talking points from the game:

Rooney pivotal

Wayne Rooney had a bad game against Swansea, and this certainly impacted on the scoreline. When at his best, Rooney inspires United to be at their best; he is the pivot of the team. Against Swansea however, Rooney was poor, and United struggled to find a second goal as a result of that.

The Swansea defence marked Rooney exceptionally well throughout the game, limiting his influence for the most part. Nevertheless, the passes Rooney did make were often wayward. It was no surprise when he was substituted late on. Despite excellent peformances from Michael Carrick behind him, and Robin van Persie in front of him, Rooney’s lacklustre display meant United couldn’t quite find the extra gear that would’ve got them the three points in Wales.

Corners

After failing to register a single goal from a corner last season, United have now scored several this season. The reasons for this appear to be multiple. Firstly, the delivery from summer signing van Persie, and the improved Wayne Rooney, have offered more dangerous set-pieces that at most times last season. Secondly, it would be no surprise had United not worked on their set-pieces in training in order to get more success from them; it seems to have worked.

Patrice Evra scored from a corner against Swansea, and his recent goal-scoring glut (already three this season) has been as a result of his presence at set-pieces. Evra would previously stay back and defend when United were attacking set-pieces, mainly due to his height. This year however, the Frenchman has been going up for corners, and his unlikely ability to jump and head, combined with an underestimation from the opposition, has contributed to him scoring more.

 Going Forward

Ten points from twelve over the festive period would be an excellent return for United. After dropping two against Swansea, the onus is now on to win the other three. A point at the Liberty Stadium is not a bad result, but the disappointing manner of the performance will have left Sir Alex Ferguson frustrated. Utilising the squad will now be the name of the game as United look to pick up full points from the following games.

Ratings

[4-4-2]: De Gea-6, Jones-6, Vidic-6, Evans-6, Evra-6 Valencia-6, Carrick-8*, Cleverley-6, Young-6, Rooney-5, van Persie-7

(Hernandez-6, Giggs-7, Scholes-6)

*Man of the match