Monk hails passionate display

30th August

Garry Monk hailed his side's display of passion and character as they came from behind to beat Manchester United 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium.
Monk's men secured their third successive win over the Red Devils after goals from Andre Ayew and Bafe Gomis overturned Juan Mata's second-half opener.
After an evenly-fought first period, in which Gomis hit the post, Mata broke the deadlock shortly after the restart, crashing home from the back post following Luke Shaw's cross.
But the Swans showed spirit to fight back and got their reward on the hour mark when Ayew scored his third of the season, meeting Sigurdsson's inviting delivery with another fine header.
The Ghana international then turned from scorer to provider to release Gomis, who slotted past Sergio Romero for Swansea's winner.
And Monk praised his side for the passion they displayed to complete a stunning comeback against the 20-time Premier League champions.



"I'm very happy," said the Swans boss. "It was a difficult game, especially in the first half during the first 25 to 30 minutes. They started better, and it was hard to find the lines of passing.
"But we came into the game more so in the last 15 minutes of the first half and made the tactical change in the second half, which allowed us to change the game.
"It freed us up and made us look more of a threat. We then scored goals at the right time and were very clinical, which is pleasing.
"They didn't react to the change well, and we took advantage of that.
"But what is most pleasing is the character and passion the players showed.
"We've played some great football, but we showed that other side to us today, which is what a good team is all about.
"They dominated the ball but I didn't feel they created much. We defended pretty comfortably, other than when Rooney went through and Ash made a great tackle.
"Overall, I felt we had the best chances of the game and we came away with the win, which is the most important thing."



Meanwhile, Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal was left disappointed and frustrated after losing the game within, what he felt, was five minutes.
"There's a lot of frustration and disappointment," said the Dutch manager. "We were the dominant team for 85 minutes, but we lost the game in five minutes.
"Swansea changed their shape, which was the difference. 
"In the five minutes after they changed the shape, they scored two goals. We have to adapt much quicker."