SUMMARY OF SATURDAYS PREMIER LEAGUE ACTION *Manchester United 1-2 Swansea City Louis van Gaals first competitive game as Manchester United manager was perhaps a touch too competitive for the Dutchmans liking: the Swans shocked their hosts with the kind of eyebrow raising Old Trafford defeat that became such a habit under David Moyes.Nobody was too surprised when Van Gaal picked a 3-4-1-2 formation,although some of the personnel had the hacks a-Googlin: Tyler Blackett played at left centre-back with Jess Lingard at right wing-back (and Ashley Young on the opposite flank). Neither academy graduate let the team down, but at half-time Van Gaal abandoned the back three and switched to a 4-2-3-1: so much for the tactical revolution. By that time Swansea were leading through a well- executed, if hardly difficult, counter-attack: Ki Sung-Yeung was left completely Iunmarked to collect and dispatch Nathan Dyers pass. United levelled through a short-range overhead kick from new captain Wayne Rooney on 53 minutes, but there was to be no happy beginning for the new skipper or gaffer. With Uniteds underachieving midfield increasingly resorting to the long ball forward – a situation seldom helped by the arrival of substitute Marouane Fellaini – it was Swansea who scored the games third goal, handed to them by more poor defending (ersatz left-back Young failed to deal with sub Jefferson Monteros cross) and a slice of luck (Wayne Routledges scuffed shot landing perfectly for Gylfi Sugurdsson to snaffle). Van Gaal may have proved himself open to new ideas – implementing a back three but being equally ready to abandon it if necessary – and refused to criticise his players, but he will not have enjoyed being beaten by a rookie manager. Garry Monk, of course, will be rightly delighted with his side, top of the nascent league. * West Ham 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur After thrice losing to West Ham last season Spurs gained revenge in delicious style, with a goal in time added on after the Hammers had been on the front foot for most of the game. Sam Allardyce – under such pressure that he was still the bookies favourite to be the first top-flight manager sacked even when punters were pouring thousands on Tony Pulis – bristled at goalscorer Eric Diers suggestion that the home side were direct, and some of the stats back him up: of West Hams 409 passes, 356 were short and a healthy 344, or 84%, completed – not the mark of a team that lumps it mindlessly. That said, they did attempt 53 long balls to Spurs 23. More worryingly, however they got the ball forward they didnt use it very well up at the sharp end: although they registered 18 attempts to Spurs 10, each side got four on target – typical of the Hammers, whose 37% shot accuracy last season was the top flights worst. The home side had a numerical advantage for half an hour either side of half-time, with Kyle Naughton somewhat questionably sent off for hands before James Collins rather daftly collected a second yellow. To make matters worse for Allardyce, Mark Noble chose the derby to miss his first penalty in 11 attempts – and just when it looked like the game would end in a draw, Dier drifted forward and calmly rounded Adrian to give Mauricio Pochettino a debut win. Spurs were far from brilliant, but you wouldnt find a frown in the away end at five to five. * Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace Tony Pulis would be spinning in his grave, if he were dead rather than simply in a huff: Palace capitulated by conceding two goals from set- pieces as Arsenal coughed and spluttered their way to a first opening-day win in five attempts. The south Londoners may have lost Pulis but his spirit remains and under caretaker Keith Millen Palace were the same obdurate opponents, dropping into a 4-5-1 without the ball and hoping to spring a surprise on the break. Arsenal dominated possession but went behind 10 minutes before the break when Palace new boy Brede Hangeland broke a three-season scoring duck, back-headering home after outmuscling Alexis Sanchez and Laurent Koscielny. Maddeningly for Millen (and presumably Pulis, somewhere), Palace couldnt hold on until half- time – and the roles were almost exactly reversed, as Sanchez hoisted an injury-time free-kick over the defence, where Koscielny outsmarted Hangeland to score his own back-header. After the break Millens men again stood firm against home possession, even as Arsene Wenger threw on Olivier Giroud (for the willing but limited Yaya Sanogo) and Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain; Arsenal eventually completed 637 passes to Palaces 123. The visitors could have coped with Jason Puncheons second yellow in the 89th minute, but as the game ticked into overtime they again conceded from a set-piece, Arsenals various creative types repeatedly hoisting the ball into the danger zone until Aaron Ramsey found himself unmarked in an unmissable position. Relief for Arsenal, disbelief for Palace, but both will need to improve if theyre to reach their goals. - FFT
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 09:35:26 +0000
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