NBC on Yahoo SportsSwansea City 2-1 Manchester United: Swans comeback stuns Red Devils
Juan Mata bagged the opener just after halftime
Andre Ayew equalized on the hour mark
Bafetimbi Gomis gave Swansea the lead 6 minutes later
A pair of goals in six minutes gave Swansea City a stunning comeback as they down Manchester United by a 2-1 scoreline for the third straight time in Premier League play.
Juan Mata had given Manchester United the lead shortly after halftime when Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew grabbed the game by its horns and set the Liberty Stadium alight after an hour.
Off the opening whistle, with Swansea initially looking to play on the break, Manchester United held much of the possession in the opening 20 minutes. Mata came closest when he picked up a loose ball in the box and lashed it just wide of the near post.
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Swansea nearly caught United’s high back line off guard but Bafetimbi Gomis ripped his effort well over the bar on the 24th minute break. Moments later Gylfi Sigurdsson should have put the Swans one-up but he put his low shot just wide. The Swans continued their bright spell as a clearance by Sergio Romero went right to Jonjo Shelvey, and the midfielder tried an audacious chip that Romero just got his hands to. Gomis then hit the outside of the post with a strong shot under pressure.
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Rain began to pour down near the half-hour mark, and both sides looked bogged down as the first half wound down.
But just three minutes into the second half, Manchester United went ahead with their third goal of the season. Luke Shaw burst down the left side and delivered a cross into the box. Wayne Rooney, waiting at the near post, stuck a foot out but missed the ball, and with the defenders converging on Rooney, Juan Mata was left alone at the far post to punch the ball home from close range.
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Manchester United settled in to preserve their lead, but Swansea had been dangerous on the counter, and Garry Monk brought on Ki Sung-Yeung to change the home side’s shape. It worked to perfection.
They equalized on the hour mark with a brilliant header by Andre Ayew for his first Premier League goal. A cross from the right came into the box with Ayew and Gomis out-gunning just one defender on the counter, and the Ghanan cannoned his header into the ground and over Sergio Romero’s head on the bounce.
With United back-pedaling, they stunned the Red Devils by taking the lead just six minutes later. Ayew got the ball down the right and sent a ball forward to Gomis one-on-two. The Red Devil defense somehow let it through, and Gomis poked a ball past Romero from a tight angle for the lead and his trademark panther celebration.
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Manchester United brought on Marouane Fellaini and began to hoof it forward, but the attacking intent seemed more out of desperation than inspiration. There was one last big chance, but referee Martin Atkinson waved away a penalty shout from Wayne Rooney after the English international was clean through on goal but waited too long before going down under pressure from Ashley Williams.
The loss is Manchester United’s first of the season, but they remain without more than one goal in any game thus far and sit on seven points. Swansea, thanks to Gomis’s fourth goal in four games, move into the Premier League table’s top four.
