Swansea leave Van Gaal in a spin
Shot-shy United hand boss more problems
IN the parallel universe that Louis van Gaal occasionally seems to occupy, the form team in the Barclays Premier League had to lose some time.
It was only their second defeat in 20 games, Manchester United’s manager was quick to acknowledge, and there was a degree of misfortune in the way they lost to a spirited Swansea City team.
Jonjo Shelvey’s shot in the 73rd minute had taken a major deflection off Bafetimbi Gomis’s head to leave David de Gea stranded.
But Van Gaal struggled to dress this up as anything other than a disappointing performance, even if he did at least take the kind of risks that many continue to demand of the Dutchman.
After a first half that finished with a goal apiece, with Ki Sung-yeung equalising for Garry Monk’s side a couple of minutes after Ander Herrera had opened the scoring, Van Gaal displayed some genuine ambition by replacing his more defensive full-backs with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young.
It had not been a terribly successful afternoon for Luke Shaw or Paddy McNair. They struggled against Swansea’s width and pace.
But Valencia and Young’s introduction remained a bold move, and one that worked until Gomis diverted Shelvey’s effort beyond De Gea. United had dominated the second half, leaving Van Gaal ‘amazed’ that his side had lost.
Monk, however, made the point afterwards that United managed only one shot on target after the break and, in fairness to Van Gaal, he too admitted that his players made little of the possession they had enjoyed.
He said they were not ‘effective’, adding that he would need to study slow motion replays to determine exactly why.
In real time here at the Liberty Stadium, Swansea were able to savour completing a Premier League double over the Old Traf- ford club because of the lack of cohesion and fluency that has too often been evident in United’s football this season. They remain very much a work in progress for their former Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Ajax boss.
Gary Neville is probably right. It is time to stop pining about the football that was played under Sir Alex Ferguson and accept that, with the players currently at his disposal, Van Gaal is doing things differently. But that 81 per cent approval rating he received in a
poll might drop a few points if there are too many more displays like this.
For now, United have dropped only a place in the Premier League and remain in a Champions League spot. But Southampton need only draw against Liverpool today to move above them and that might yet make life more uncomfortable for a manager set the target by his bosses of finishing third this season.
Ferguson had a saying for such anxious moments but, Neville would no doubt agree, it should probably be retired with him.
Yesterday felt like a short step back in time with Wayne Rooney paired with Robin van Persie in attack. Radamel Falcao was left on the bench. The result was Rooney’s first shot on target in the Premier League in 2015, albeit an effort that was probably symptomatic of too many matches spent in midfield.
Alongside him, though, was a player who continues to look a shadow of the forward who inspired that last Premier League title only two seasons ago. Van Persie was dreadful even before he suffered what seems to be a serious injury. A midfield comprising Herrera, Angel Di Maria, Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind was not entirely convincing either.
No sooner had this contest begun than United were almost a goal down, Herrera clearing a powerful Gomis header off the line. It was close, as the goalline technology quickly illustrated.
But what amounted to a fairly open first half saw United land the first blow after 28 minutes, Rooney and Di Maria combining well before Herrera unleashed a marvellous first-time strike that beat Lukasz Fabianski via the inside of his far post.
Van Gaal punched the air in celebration, and understandably so. But barely 90 seconds later he might have been tempted to thump his defenders for failing to defend a teasing cross from Shelvey. Ki reacted quickest, surging ahead of Shaw to beat De Gea from close range.
Van Gaal made one change at the break, replacing young McNair at right-back with Valencia. And it was not long before Shaw had been hooked too, for Young.
If that summed up Van Gaal’s view of his full-backs, it also remained a statement of intend and United did gain momentum with the changes. For long periods, Swansea found themselves camped deep in their own half, with United pressing but unable to break through a backline l ed impressively by Ashley Williams.
It made the decisive goal all the more frustrating for Van Gaal, a goal scored very much on the counter-attack. But, as Van Gaal said, you need to convert the chances you create, and rarely did United ever look capable of doing that.