Man. United bounce back, trash Swansea 3-1

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Manchester United ended a run of four Premier League games without a win as they made light work of a feeble Swansea City side.

United dominated from the start and were 3-0 up at half-time thanks to Paul Pogba’s stunning volley and two goals for Zlatan Ibrahimovic – his first in the league since September.

Mike van der Hoorn headed in for Swansea midway through the second half but there was no real danger for the visitors, whose manager Jose Mourinho watched from the stands because of a touchline ban.

United climb up to sixth in the table, while a 10th Premier League match without victory means Swansea remain second from bottom.

The Swans’ dismal performance prompted boos from the home crowd and left manager Bob Bradley with just one point from his first four games in charge.

But for Mourinho, a second win in eight league matches comes as welcome relief following a difficult few weeks.

Although he was banished to the stands, Mourinho made his presence felt with six changes from Thursday’s Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce.

One of those recalled was Ibrahimovic, whose attitude Mourinho had praised as “brilliant” despite a barren spell which had seen the Swede fail to score in six Premier League games.

Happily for Ibrahimovic and United, they faced a ramshackle Swansea defence in charitable mood.

While Pogba’s exquisite volley would have beaten any goalkeeper, Ibrahimovic’s low drive only found its way to the net because it was met with such weak resistance from Swansea keeper Lukasz Fabianski.

Mourinho could sit back and relax as his side controlled the match with embarrassing ease, Pogba, Wayne Rooney and Ibrahimovic all rediscovering their form to torment their abject opponents.

Ibrahimovic’s second goal was a microcosm of the match as he brushed aside Angel Rangel’s untidy challenge before clipping the ball beyond Fabianski.

-BBC

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