The Louis van Gaal era is underway at Old Trafford, and Manchester
United fans were in for a bit of a surprise with the opening day
starting lineup Saturday against Swansea. Expected starters Robin van
Persie and Luke Shaw were unavailable, so van Gaal turned to two players
most fans had never heard of until today.
Manchester United debuted a new 3-4-1-2 formation featuring a back three of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and 20-year-old Tyler Blackett. 21-year-old Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young played as wing backs.
New arrival
Ander Herrera and Darren Fletcher were in central midfield, with Juan
Mata playing just behind a front two of Wayne Rooney and Javier
Hernandez. That left the likes of United veteran Nani, Shinji Kagawa and
Adnan Januzaj
on the bench.
Blackett and Lingard played in preseason games, but each made their
Manchester United debut Saturday. Blackett spent last season on short
loans at Blackpool and Birmingham in the English second division, where
he made a combined 13 appearances. Lingard, meanwhile, was a star for
United in the 2013 preseason but was sent out on loan to Birmingham and
Brighton & Hove Albion.
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