How Manchester United rated as a late blitz saw them ease past Swansea City

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Manchester United made it two wins from two at the start of their Premier League season as a late blitz proved too much for a battling Swansea City side at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

In a frantic opening half hour both sides came close to breaking the deadlock with Jordan Ayew and Phil Jones hitting the woodwork, before Marcus Rashford spurned a glaring one-on-one opportunity.

The visitors got their noses in front moments before half-time though when Eric Bailly poked the ball home on the line after Paul Pogba’s bullet header was brilliantly pushed away by Lukasz Fabianski.

The second-half started in a much slower manner, with the Swans deflated after Bailly’s late opener, but they grew into the game as new boy Tammy Abraham twice went close from in the six-yard box.

But three goals in the space of four minutes from Romelu Lukaku, Pogba and Anthony Martial blew the Swans out of the water and ensured that Manchester United made it back-to-back victories.

See below for how Jose Mourinho’s men rated as they thrashed Swansea City.

David de Gea – Nearly caught out early on by Jordan Ayew’s scuffed cross that grazed the underside of the crossbar but that’s as close as Swansea came. Can’t remember him making a single save. 6.

Daley Blind – Perhaps the main weak link in the Manchester United side, he took a while to settle down and looked nervy at times. The home side often tried to exploit his lack of positioning throughout the 90 minutes but, to his credit, he put in a more disciplined display after the break. 6.

Eric Bailly – Made a superb last-ditch block during the first-half to keep things level before he came up with the goods at the other end, gambling on Pogba’s header and stabbing the ball across the line to register his first United goal. Marshalled the danger-man Abraham well and kept his focus. 8.

Phil Jones – Has started the season in a good run of form and continued this at the Liberty on Saturday, showing a new-found sense of composure at the back alongside Bailly. Nearly opened the scoring when his effort hit the woodwork but it was a solid and assured afternoon’s work for him. 7.

Antonio Valencia – Wasn’t afforded his usual space to attack down the right-flank due to Swansea’s well-drilled defence and he had an unusually quiet 90 minutes. Solid but unspectacular in defence. 6.

Nemanja Matic – Hasn’t taken him long to settle in at United and he cut an imposing figure once again against the Swans, commanding the midfield area. Struggled to orchestrate the visiting attack in the manner he did last week but still covered a lot of ground, barely giving the hosts a sniff. 7.

Paul Pogba – He’s clearly enjoying his new freedom and he put in another industrious display, finding pockets of space regularly between the Swansea lines. Was walking a tightrope after his early booking but that didn’t affect him one bit, grabbing two assists and an extremely well-taken late goal. 8.

Juan Mata – Preferred ahead of Ander Herrera for the second week running and he repaid Jose Mourinho’s faith in him, constantly looking for small, intricate passes to raise the visitors’ attacking tempo. Had neat touches but no real impact in front of goal and he faded as the game went on. 6.

Marcus Rashford – Received a tough reception from the home crowd after his controversial penalty dive last season but he dealt with it well and looked lively, posing a threat whenever he drove forward. Missed a glorious chance to opening the scoring when clean through but was very bright. 7.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Impressed against West Ham and was involved in a lot of United’s play again, picking the ball up from deep and looking for the runs of Lukaku and Rashford. His creativity was stifled for a lot of the match but recorded his 3^rd and 4^th assists of the campaign with some classy play late on. 7.

Romelu Lukaku – Started where he left off from last week and looked to stretch the Swansea back three whenever possible. Was anonymous for large parts of the game, struggling to get any space in front of goal, but still popped up with his third goal in a week to secure all three points for United. 5.

Anthony Martial – Perhaps has the right to feel aggrieved about not starting after his impressive cameo appearance last weekend but gave Mourinho something to think about once again, combining with fellow Frenchman Pogba to put the icing on the cake of United’s afternoon. 7.

Marouane Fellaini – Came on with 20 minutes left to tighten things up in the midfield and only watched on as his side became rampant at the other end. His cameo shows he’s still considered a key player. 5.

Ander Herrera – Given the final five minutes. N/A.