MU Kalah Pertama Kalinya di Laga Pembuka Sejak 1972
United Lose at Home in Opening Match for first Time Since 1972
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
Manchester (B2B) - Mendominasi penguasaan bola tanpa pemain kunci Robin van Persie, Manchester United yang bertanding di kandangnya sendiri di Old Trafford di bawah pelatih baru Louis van Gaal, malah tersungkur 1-2 dari Swansea City dalam pertandingan pertama Liga Utama Inggris malam ini.
Pemain asal Korea Selatan Ki Sung-Yueng dan pemain Islandia Gylfi Sigurdsson yang juga membuat assist untuk Ki menciptakan kedua gol Swansea, sedangkan kapten baru United Wayne Rooney membuat satu-satunya gol Setan Merah.
United hampir saja menciptakan gol pada menit-menit awal ketika Phil Jones menyambut sebuah umpan silang dengan sundulannya namun dimentahkan oleh kiper Swansea Lukasz Fabianski.
Terus ditekan, Swansea menciptakan satu-satunya peluang berbahaya di babak pertama yang optimal dieksploitasi menjadi gol, lewat pemain asal Korea Selatan Ki Sung-yueng.
Pada menit 28, bergerak membawa bol dari kanan ke kiri lapangan, Nathan Dyer lalu mendapati Ki di tepi kotak penalti Setan Merah, setengah mencoba-coba Ki melepaskan tendakan kaki kiri menyusur yang tak bisa dihalau David de Gea. 1-0 untuk Swansea.
Wilfried Bony sukses menjinakkan Phil Jones sehingga tak bisa mencegah Ki Sung-yueng.
Menurut BBC, formasi baru yang dikenalkan pelatih baru Louis van Gaal dengan memasang tiga bek membuat pergerakan pemain belakang menjadi terlalu sempit, sedangkan tidak ada gelandang penyangga yang bisa mengisi kekosongan antar lini belakang.
Setahun lalu, pada babak pertama MU di bawah David Moyes malah bisa memimpin 2-0 melawan Swansea justru ketika bermain di kandang Swansea di Liberty Stadium.
Masuk babak kedua, United menukar Javier Hernandez dengan Nani demi mengubah formasi menjadi empat gelandang.
Hasilnya pada menit 53 kapten tim Wayne Rooney menyamakan kedudukan lewat tendangan jarak dekat usai menerima umpan Phil Jones.
Namun 19 menit kemudian giliran Gylfi Sigurdsson si pemberi assist untuk gol pertama Swansea menciptakan gol pada menit 72 untuk mempersembahkan tiga poin untuk timnya, sekaligus merusak debut Louis van Gaal di Old Trafford.
Manuver pemain baru Jefferson Montero dan Wayne Routledge telah merancang gol Gylfi Sigurdsson yang asal Eslandia ini dan dengan dengan dingin melepaskan tembakan dari jarak 10 yard dengan kaki kirinya yang tak bisa dijangkau David de Gea. 2-1 untuk Swansea.
Kedudukan ini tak berubah sampai babak kedua usai, dan MU ini mengawali kampanye musim ini dengan kekalahan.
Manchester - Swansea stunned Manchester United with Gylfi Sigurdsson nicking the winner in a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford to spoil new manager Louis van Gaal’s debut. It was a rude welcome to the Prem for the Dutch manager, as Swansea had never before won a league match at Old Trafford. On Saturday, they took their chances -- and put a healthy dollop of egg on van Gaal’s face in the process.
The loss was the first speed bump for van Gaal’s new regime. Manchester United had won all of their preseason games, but today, lacking some key faces, looked to be a team still in need of help. United lacked power and pace going forward and looked quite ragged at the back at time. More concerning perhaps is that there were only flashes of quality in what overall was an average game -- for average is not what this very proud, very high-profile Manchester team expects or accepts.
In a fashion that befitted this tedious game, the winner came off a farcial play. Sub Jefferson Montero sent over a fine cross to Wayne Routledge that the midfielder attempted to put on frame. Instead, he scuffed his shot so badly that it spun right to Sigurdsson’s laces. Keeper David de Gea was left helpless as Sigurdsson then sidefooted the ball right into the back of the net.
Van Gaal did not have either Robin van Persie or Danny Welbeck available for his Premier League debut match and the first 45 minutes at Old Trafford demonstrated why the rumor mills have strongly suggested that Mexican star Javier Hernandez will eventually be the odd man out. No Hernandez-Wayne Rooney partnership developed to trouble a tight Swansea backline.
The United boss then suffered another setback when Jesse Lingard, who had looked effective wide on the right, came out the worst of a 50-50 challenge with Ashley Williams, appearing to stretch out when his trailing leg was caught in the tackle. Although the youngster walked off under his own power, van Gaal quickly sent on Adnan Januzaj as a replacement midway through the opening half, apparently taking no chances with Lingard's physical condition.
The first Swansea goal added to the woes, Ki Sung-yeung given far too much room to step into a Sigurdsson cross at the top of the box. Ki, with time to take a look, guided the ball into the low right corner past de Gea for the 1-0 Swans' advantage.
There had been early signs that Swansea could find gaps in the Red Devils' backline, but Routledge lacked the first touch to bring down one fine pass and de Gea saved well from Sigurdsson on another occasion.
What United did manage usually came from the right flank or from Juan Mata's free kicks, but there was really no problem for Swansea's new keeper, Lukasz Fabianski, in his first half between the posts.
The second half finally saw United take the bit between their teeth, sparked by van Gaal abandoning the three-at-the-back formation in favor of a more orthodox flat four. And that led to United’s goal. Wayne Rooney drew matters level with a sublime bicycle kick.
Rooney’s goal, smacked home at the near post in the 53rd minute, was a rare moment of quality for United what had been a lackluster game. Januzaj beat Neil Taylor to the endline, forcing a corner kick, and off Mata’s delivery, and a slight flick on from Phil Jones, the captain spun and slammed the ball home in acrobatic fashion.
Rooney would then ping a free kick off the outside of the post with Fabianski beat in the 66th, and that miss would prove quite costly. Six minutes later, Sigurdsson would score, and the game would peter out from then on.
No one expected van Gaal to pay immediate dividends for a United team that everyone acknowledges was in need of a major rebuild after the woe of the Moyes era. But some of the same woes -- particularly the vanished sense of invincibility that once suffused this United side -- persist. In many ways, this United side is picking up where they left off last season. Van Gaal will be under immediate pressure now to raise the level of their game.
