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Live Commentary: Manchester United 2-0 Swansea City - as it happened

Relive Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report of Manchester United's 2-0 win against Swansea City at home in the Premier League.
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Manchester United ended a run of three straight defeats on Saturday as they beat Swansea City 2-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League.

Antonio Valencia opened the scoring for the hosts at the start of the second half when he was on hand to tap in from close range.

United added a second on the hour thanks to an instinctive finish from the in-form Danny Welbeck.

Read Sports Mole's minute-by-minute report below to find out how all of the action unfolded between the teams.


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Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of this evening's Premier League clash between Manchester United and Swansea City at Old Trafford. We should have some team news filtering through in the next few moments...

There are also five other Premier League matches currently being played, and we will bring you those full-time results as soon as they happen. Meanwhile, Chelsea started the day by going to the top of the table thanks to a 2-0 win at Hull City. You can read our match report for that one right here.

MAN UTD: De Gea; Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Carrick, Fletcher, Januzaj; Kagawa, Welbeck

Manchester United boss David Moyes has made three changes to his starting XI following Tuesday's defeat to Sunderland in the League Cup semi-finals. Chris Smalling, Darren Fletcher and Shinji Kagawa are all given the nod by the Scot, while Jonny Evans, Tom Cleverley and Ryan Giggs make way.

MAN UTD SUBS: Lindegaard, Büttner, Cleverley, Giggs, Lingard, Zaha, Hernandez

SWANSEA: Tremmel; Rangel, Amat, Williams, Davies; Britton, Canas, Shelvey, Pozuelo, Routledge; Bony

SWANSEA SUBS: Cornell, Richards, Chico, Taylor, Lucas, Vazquez, Donnelly

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup goes one better than David Moyes and makes four changes to his side following their win here in the FA Cup third round last weekend. Angel Rangel, Ashley Williams, Ben Davies and Jose Canas all come in to the side.

Needless to say, it's been a torrid 2014 so far for Manchester United as they struggle to build any kind of momentum heading into the second half of the season. The Red Devils have lost their last three games in all competitions. Another defeat today would be the first time that they have lost four in a row since 1961.

Meanwhile, Swansea will be quietly fancying themselves to get another result at Old Trafford today after beating United 2-1 here last weekend in the third round of the FA Cup. Looking more closely at the Premier League table, the Welsh side can climb into the top half if they come away with the points this evening.



Right, it looks like today's other Premier League games are gradually coming to a close. We will bring you those results shortly...

PREMIER LEAGUE FULL-TIME RESULTS:

Cardiff City 0-2 West Ham
Everton 2-0 Norwich
Fulham 1-4 Sunderland
Southampton 1-0 West Brom
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Crystal Palace


Those results don't make an awful lot of difference to Man Utd as a win will keep the champions in seventh place in the table. However, Swansea now know that they will climb up into the top half with a victory.

HEAD TO HEAD: Man Utd have the better record when it comes to past meetings between these teams, but only just. The Red Devils have 10 wins compared to Swansea's seven, while there have been a further five draws.

Swansea's triumph in the FA Cup last weekend was their first win over Man Utd in eight attempts. Their last encounter before that was on the opening day of the season when David Moyes's side got their campaign off to a great start with a 4-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium.



REFEREE WATCH: The official in charge of tonight's match at Old Trafford is Chris Foy.

RECENT FORM:

MAN UTD: WWWLLL
SWANSEA: DLLDLW




PREDICTION TIME: We here at Sports Mole have a hunch that there will be very little to separate the teams this evening, but we've gone for Man Utd to edge it 2-1. Just under five minutes to go until this one kicks off.

The players are just starting to emerge in the tunnel at Old Trafford as we edge closer to the start of this match. Plenty of determined looks on the faces of the Man Utd players, that's for sure.

KICKOFF! Right, the pre-match handshakes have been done and it will be Man Utd to get us underway. Here we go!

It's been a fairly even start so far, though Man Utd have shown that little bit more enthusiasm. They're chasing Swansea down well and not allowing the visitors to get into their passing rhythm.

The first real attempt on goal of the match falls the way of Swansea as Shelvey's effort from the edge of the box is well held by De Gea. The visitors are starting to show what they're about with some crisp passing in and around the penalty area.

CHANCE! Close to the opening goal for Man Utd as Vidic shoots over from close range following Januzaj's free kick on the right. It was a difficult opportunity for the Serbian as he was off balance when trying to get his effort away.

OFF THE BAR! So close for the hosts! They win a free kick right on the edge of the box that Januzaj steps up to take, but the youngster's superb effort rattles the crossbar with Tremmel beaten.

Man Utd are starting to build up a head of steam now. The momentum is firmly with them as they go in search of the opening goal. Meanwhile, Swansea are struggling to break into the opposition half.

A bit of a worry here for Swansea as Canas receives treatment on what looks like a foot injury following a clash with Carrick. It's unclear whether he's able to carry on.

SUBSTITUTION: Unfortunately for Swansea that's the end of Jose Canas's night as he limps off. Chico Flores is on in his place.

Both managers are down on the touchline, giving instructions to their respective players. It's all very even at the moment, though it's been a decent encounter so far. The two teams continue to show plenty of attacking intent.

It's Swansea who are starting to control things a bit more now. Man Utd are sitting back and allowing the opposition to come forward. That could be dangerous for the champions as the visitors have been well drilled in their passing and movement so far.

Swansea continue to dictate the tempo of this match, but they're finding it difficult to make their possession count in the final third. They've lacked that killer pass when it's counted. Still, Michael Laudrup is sure to be pleased with what he's seen from his players so far.

CHANCE! Man Utd create a decent opening as Fletcher finds Evra lurking on the edge of the box. The Frenchman hits a low shot across goal, but it doesn't have enough on it to worry Tremmel as the goalkeeper gets down low to make a comfortable save.

Half and hour played at Old Trafford and it remains goalless. However, the Man Utd fans are beginning to voice their impatience as the hosts struggle to make any waves in the Swansea half.

CHANCE! A quick free kick sees Kagawa burst into the Swansea box, but the Japanese playmaker takes too long on the ball and sees his cross collected by Tremmel. Welbeck and Januzaj were waiting in the middle, though their runs were ultimately made in vain.

CHANCE! Good play from the hosts as Evra's cross is eventually met by Fletcher, but the midfielder blazes his shot over the bar from about 15 yards. Not the desired effect, though it's a lot better from the champions. They've looked strangely timid for parts of this half.

MISS! How has Welbeck put that wide? Valencia put a wonderful cross into the box for his teammate to get onto, only for the striker to steer the ball past the post when he really should have scored. How costly could that miss prove to be?

YELLOW CARD: The first booking of the match goes the way of Swansea's Angel Rangel for bringing down Kagawa out on the touchline.

Swansea carve out something of a half-chance at the other end as Shelvey drags his shot wide. The visitors had plenty of men forward there, though they overcooked it in the end with too many passes.

Into the last five minutes of the half and it's Man Utd who are asking most of the questions at the moment. They've upped the tempo in terms of their passing and it's made a real difference. Swansea are looking a bit stretched.

Two minutes of added time at the end of the half...

YELLOW CARD: Swansea striker Wilfried Bony goes into the book for a challenge from behind on Fletcher. Not a very clever one, that.

HALF TIME: MAN UTD 0-0 SWANSEA

Referee Chris Foy blows the half-time whistle and it's goalless at half time between Man Utd and Swansea. Not the greatest 45 minutes of football, though there were chances for both sides.

The best opportunity fell the way of the champions as Danny Welbeck shot wide following Antonio Valencia's cross. The England international really should have got his effort on target. Meanwhile, Jonjo Shelvey was active in the opposition half from a Swansea perspective.



Swansea had a whopping 66% possession during that first half, and that statistic tells a lot in terms of how the opening 45 minutes took shape. Man Utd created the better chances, but Swansea frustrated their opponents by keeping the ball well. However, they haven't really used it well enough in the final third.

In case you missed them earlier, here come today's other full-time results in the Premier League...

PREMIER LEAGUE FULL-TIME RESULTS:

Cardiff City 0-2 West Ham
Everton 2-0 Norwich
Fulham 1-4 Sunderland
Hull City 0-2 Chelsea
Southampton 1-0 West Brom
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Crystal Palace


SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! The players are back out and it will be Swansea to get us underway...

GOAL! MAN UTD 1-0 SWANSEA (VALENCIA)

And just like that, Man Utd take the lead through Antonio Valencia! A cross from the left was met by Kagawa, who's header was saved by Tremmel, but Valencia was there to tap the rebound into the net from close range. What a start to the second half for the home side!

That goal has certainly seen a wave of relief flow across Old Trafford. The hosts are looking a lot calmer, while the home fans are in more jubilant spirits. There's still a long way to go, but the champions are in control now.



Good play from Evra down the left sees the full-back deliver an inviting cross into the middle that Kagawa just can't get on the end of. The ball continues to bobble around in the Swansea box as Fletcher battles away, but the visitors just about do enough to see off the danger. Kagawa then goes close by shooting over from 20 yards.

Evra is getting a lot of joy down this left side. He puts another cross into the box that Swansea deal with, but the away side will need to be careful because a red shirt will get on the end of one of those sooner or later.

Swansea show plenty of patience in their build-up play before Shelvey smashes the ball high and wide. The Man Utd fans enjoyed that from the former Liverpool midfielder.

GOAL! MAN UTD 2-0 SWANSEA (WELBECK)

The hosts now have a 2-0 lead as Danny Welbeck is on hand to turn the ball into the net! Swansea gave the ball away cheaply around their own box before Evra tried a speculative effort from about 25 yards. The shot wasn't a good one from the Frenchman, but Welbeck was there in a crowded penalty area to guide the ball past Tremmel.



SUBSTITUTION: Swansea make their second change of the night now as Jonjo Shelvey is replaced by Alvaro Vazquez. Can the Spaniard help the Welsh side get back into this match?

Swansea create something of a half-chance as Pozuelo tries his luck, but he can only fire high and wide. The visitors have been poor with their shooting this evening.

MISS! Oh dear, Chris Smalling. The defender somehow puts the ball over the crossbar from all of four yards following a drilled cross from Kagawa. That really should have been 3-0 to Man Utd.

Man Utd really have looked like a different side in this second half. Where they were timid and nervous during the opening 45 minutes, they've carved Swansea apart since the restart. Welbeck is the latest player in a red shirt to have a crack at goal, but he shanks his effort wide from 18 yards.

Credit to Swansea, they're still showing signs of life. A cross from the left is met by the head of Amat, though it's an easy one for De Gea to keep out as the Spaniard catches hold of the ball.

The visitors will know that if they can get a goal in the next five or 10 minutes, then it will be a very interesting end to the game. Man Utd may look comfortable with their 2-0 lead, but a goal for Swansea would change everything.

MISS! How has Kagawa missed that?! A quick Man Utd counter-attack saw Kagawa played clear through on goal, but the Japanese international took too long on the ball. He did the hard work by rounding Tremmel, though his tame shot after that was cleared off the line.

SUBSTITUTION: Man Utd make their first change of the night as Alexander Buttner enters the action in place of Patrice Evra.

Man Utd win a free kick out on the right side that Januzaj stands over before trying to curl the ball into the far corner. However, he gets just a bit too much on it as the ball flies out for a goal kick. Time is running out for the visitors.

The Man Utd defence had to be on their toes there as Swansea threatened to pull a goal back. They had one opportunity snuffed out before Vidic threw himself in front of Pozuelo's effort.

SUBSTITUTION: Another change for the hosts here as Javier Hernandez replaces Danny Welbeck.

Barring some kind of miracle, it looks as if Man Utd will be putting an end to their run of three straight defeats this evening. Despite large spells of possession for the visitors, it's hard to argue against the hosts deserving the victory. They've looked very lively in the second half, and that's where the game has been won.

Three minutes of added time to be played...

A final chance for Swansea falls the way of Bony from a free kick, but the striker shoots comfortably over. That should be that.

FULL TIME: MAN UTD 2-0 SWANSEA

The full-time whistle goes and Man Utd have ended a run of three straight defeats with a 2-0 win over Swansea. Antonio Valencia opened the scoring at the start of the second half before Danny Welbeck added a second on the hour.

That's all from me but don't forget that you can keep up to date with all of the reaction from tonight's game right here on Sports Mole. Thanks for your company and enjoy the rest of your weekend. Goodbye!

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Manchester United's English striker Danny Welbeck scores the opening goal past Norwich City's English goalkeeper John Ruddy (R) during the English Premier League football match on December 28, 2013
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20Southampton1713131136-256


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