United oozing confidence after handing out another mauling
Sadio the Mane man as Liverpool scrape 1-0 win over Palace
MANCHESTER United fans would be ill-advised to start dreaming about the Premier League title just yet but they will be heartened by another vintage performance in a 4-0 rout of Swansea yesterday which showcased their attacking firepower.
Following the opening day mauling of West Ham by the same score, United manager José Mourinho was a happy man.
“I think the team is confident and in both matches winning 1-0 at halftime, we didn’t start the second half looking like we had to keep a clean sheet to win the match,” he said.
“We tried to control the game by keeping the ball and creating chances and we did that in both matches,” he added.
“The players that came on from the bench did well. Easy for me to make decisions, easy for me to make changes. The players make the manager look better and I thank their fantastic attitude because we know we have to have a squad to do something special this season.”
Midfield anchorman Nemanja Matic bossed the centre of the pitch, allowing a rejuvenated Paul Pogba to venture forward and score his second goal in two games while striker Romelu Lukaku netted his third after selfless work throughout the match.
Henrik Mkhitaryan and substitute Anthony Martial, who again scored as a late substitute, also continued to thrive.
“We are more confident (than last season),” Pogba told Sky Sports.
“We know each other more. We work for each other and I think that is easier for us. We want to carry on on this road.”
Mkhitaryan spoke about United’s passion and team spirit, factors which have been lacking for long spells since the departure of manager Alex Ferguson in 2013 when United won their 20th and last league title.
Cracks in last season’s disappointing sixth-place finish were papered over by winning the League Cup and the Europa League, the latter allowing United to qualify for the Champions League group stage.
Mourinho signed Matic, Lukaku and Sweden defender Victor Lindelof, who is yet to make his Premier League debut as Phil Jones forced his way into the starting 11 with good pre-season form.
United now have the squad depth they have lacked in the past four years and although their credentials are yet to be tested against stronger rivals, former Wales striker John Hartson believes they will be a different prospect this season.
“Clearly the opposition will get tougher for Manchester United,” Hartson told the BBC.
“But in terms of the first two games they’ve been faultless. In that three or fourminute spell where they took the game away from Swansea, they were devastating.”
Liverpool ground out their first Premier League victory of the season after winger Sadio Mane scored an opportunistic goal to give them a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield.
The pacy Mane took advantage of a double mistake by Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic and steered the ball past Wayne Hennessey in the 73rd minute, after the Wales goalkeeper had made a string of good saves.
Liverpool enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession but the visitors missed the best chance of the match shortly after the break as the home side’s former striker Christian Benteke blazed his shot over the bar from six yards.
The opening period was a scrappy affair with passes going astray at either end. The best action came inside a minute as Hennessey denied Roberto Firmino before opposite goalkeeper Simon Mignolet kept out a fiercely struck Jason Puncheon effort.
Brazilian Richarlison and substitute Etienne Capoue scored in the final 17 minutes as Watford ended a run of four Premier League draws against Bournemouth with a 2-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium.
In a move involving three new Watford signings, Nathaniel Chalobah broke from midfield and passed to Andre Gray who crossed low for Richarlison.
His initial effort was blocked by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic but the ball ran free and the Brazilian rose off the turf to tap it home.
Jermain Defoe made his second Bournemouth debut in 16 years with the score 0-0 but it was Capoue who made sure of the win for Watford with a shot from outside the box into the bottom corner in the 86th minute.
Shinji Okazaki struck early and Harry Maguire netted a header from a corner as Leicester City beat Brighton 2-0 at the King Power Stadium, handing the Premier League newcomers their second straight defeat.
Japanese international Okazaki was on hand to rifle home the rebound from a Riyad Mahrez shot in the first minute as the 2016 champions got off to a flying start in their first home game of the season.
Mahrez was also behind Leicester’s second goal, swinging in a corner early in the second half for Maguire to head home his first goal for the Foxes. Brighton had plenty of possession in the second half but once again had a hard time fashioning decent goalscoring opportunities, with Leicester able to coast home.
Charlie Austin scored a stoppage-time penalty as Southampton beat 10-man West Ham 3-2, while West Bromwich Albion beat Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moo. – Reuters
The Brazilians scored the opener by fighting fire-withfire through Hlompho Kekana, whose legs are sledge-hammers.
The Sundowns captain blasted his team ahead with a shot that wasn’t vintage Kekana but had all the hallmarks of his famous thunderous shots outside the box. This one was more placement and just enough power.
Matsatsantsa are also still gelling under new coach Eric Tinkler. The tactical discipline is there but being explosive in attack, like Tinkler prefers, still needs some fine-tuning.
Supersport played the last 15 minutes a man down after their captain Furman was sent off for two bookable offences.
Once again the fans let down this fixture by not packing the stadium even though this city now boasts being the first in the country with quarterfinalists in the Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup in the same year.
The only thing missing now to complement their success is to at least play in front of a packed crowd in their Derby, as both teams seemed to have resigned themselves to the lowly number of supporters they currently attract.