Swansea City 0-4 Manchester United: Mourinho’s men smash Swansea to maintain impressive start

Two games, eight goals scored, none conceded. That’s how Manchester United’s Premier League record looks after they followed up a season-opening win over West Ham United with another 4-0 demolition — this time of Swansea City. Eric Bailly, Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial all got themselves on the scoresheet, with José Mourinho’s men firing another warning shot to their title rivals.

The game got off to a frantic start, with both sides rattling the woodwork in the first few minutes. The first scare was United's, coming as Swansea winger Jordan Ayew deceived David de Gea with a dinked effort which bounced back off the crossbar. United’s riposte followed swiftly, coming as Phil Jones powered a Juan Mata free kick off the frame of Łukasz Fabiański’s goal.

Before long, United had established comfortable control over possession, but Mourinho's side found it rather more difficult to control the game. Swansea succeeded in making the match a scrappy one, crowding Lukaku out by sheer weight of defensive numbers. United's only real clear-cut chance of the first half came when a momentary lapse from Alfie Mawson allowed Marcus Rashford through, though he chipped the ball harmlessly into Fabianski’s gloves from close range.

When United did break the deadlock on the stroke of halftime, it was unsurprisingly the result of an untidy set-piece. Bailly — who had been so impressive in snuffing out Swansea’s counter-attacking threat — bundled his first United goal home at the near post after Fabianski had initially parried Pogba's bullet header onto the crossbar. It wasn’t a pretty goal, and came at the end of an ugly opening half, but Mourinho certainly wouldn’t have cared.

The second half, perhaps understandably, lacked the urgency of the first, and Swansea didn't look capable of raising their game. Perhaps the biggest threat facing Mourinho’s men was their own complacency, as they allowed the hosts to gain an ever greater chunk of Liberty Stadium territory. However, Mourinho was sufficiently relaxed as to wait until the final quarter-hour before introducing Marouane Fellaini and Anthony Martial.

In the end, the manager’s confidence was well placed: two goals in as many minutes sealed the victory, with Lukaku and Pogba both getting themselves on the scoresheet as Swansea crumbled. A quiet Henrikh Mkhitaryan laid on assists for both goals, his simple passes setting up equally routine finishes from inside the penalty area.

United weren’t done there, with substitute Martial adding a fourth from the bench moments later. It was a devastating United counter-attack, started by Lukaku, driven on through the centre of the pitch by Pogba, and finished with aplomb by his compatriot. The final whistle sounded at 4-0, and with United’s Premier League campaign having gotten off to an ominously good start.