Carabao Cup 2017/18, Swansea 0-2 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

Manchester United eased to victory over Swansea City in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

Jesse Lingard opened the scoring in the first half, slotting the ball into the bottom corner of the net after a tremendous flick from Marcus Rashford.

Lingard doubled the holders' lead after the interval, guiding a header home from the edge of the box following a cross from Matteo Darmian.

It was a comfortable night for Jose Mourinho's men, who will learn the identity of their quarter-final opponents on Thursday.

Here are 5 talking points from last night's match at the Liberty Stadium:

#1 United's 3-4-1-2 formation works well in straightforward win

Swansea City v Manchester United - Carabao Cup Fourth Round

Jose Mourinho shuffled his pack in terms of personnel on Tuesday, while he also switched to a new-look 3-4-1-2 setup. Ander Herrera was paired with Scott McTominay in the centre of the park, with Lingard selected as a nominal No.10 and Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial employed as a strike duo at the top of the formation.

The approach worked well, with Lingard, Rashford and Martial particularly impressive. The latter two were given the freedom to roam across the final third, with Martial often drifting out to the left flank before cutting inside. Rashford was also comfortable on the wing, delivering a tremendous cross in the direction of the Frenchman in the second half.

There was a fluidity to United's attacking, although Mourinho will have been slightly disappointed by his side's lack of control in the final 20 minutes of the first half. Overall, though, United were well worth their victory.

#2 Swansea struggle to fashion scoring opportunities

Goalscoring has been a problem for Swansea all season, with the Welsh outfit having scored only six goals in the Premier League - the only top-flight team with a worse record are Crystal Palace. Despite the concession of two goals, creating chances was again their principal problem here.

Swansea enjoyed a good spell in the second quarter of the match, when Ki Sung-yeung began to get on the ball and force United back. Yet regardless of their possession in that period, the hosts failed to do much with it; indeed, it was notable that their most presentable openings in the first half came after mistakes from Victor Lindelof and Daley Blind.

Swansea were then extremely passive after the interval, as United dominated possession, took the sting out of the game and ultimately cruised to victory. Clement will be concerned about his side's lack of attacking output so far in the 2017/18 season.

#3 Two-goal Lingard the hero for holders

Lingard is not usually a player who gets the headlines for United, even if he did score important goals in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace in 2015/16 and EFL Cup final against Southampton in 2016/17. He is a hard-worker capable of filling several different spots in the side, with his defensive diligence among the qualities most admired by Mourinho.

Yet here, Lingard was the difference-maker and match-winner for the Red Devils. His finish for the first goal was terrific, the 24-year-old opened up his body and stroked the ball into the bottom corner. His second was different but equally good, a relatively long-range header which was directed past Kristoffer Nordfeldt with aplomb.

Lingard will probably drop out of the team for Tottenham's visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, such is the wealth of attacking options at Mourinho's disposal. He was essential to United's victory here, though, and could yet play an important role this season.

#4 Roque Mesa fails to make the most of the opportunity

Mesa has had to remain patient for game time, following his summer switch from Las Palmas, with the diminutive midfielder having started just one game in the Premier League so far this season. Swansea supporters have been desperate for the Spaniard to get a chance to impress, but Mesa did not take advantage of his chance on Tuesday.

The game seemed to pass him by, with United controlling midfield despite their numerical disadvantage in that area. Mesa made some errors in possession and did not contribute much defensively, which is probably part of the reason why Clement has held him back up to now.

"I thought he did OK, he did some things that were OK," the Swans boss told reporters in his post-match press conference. "[He made] a couple of mistakes as well. So, average.” It was not exactly a ringing endorsement from Clement.

#5 Lindelof is yet to convince in a United shirt

Victor Lindelof was at fault for Huddersfield's second goal on Saturday, when he did not look at all comfortable in United's surprise defeat by the newly promoted outfit.

Mourinho kept faith in the Sweden international in midweek, fielding him as part of a back three at the Liberty Stadium. The Portuguese would have hoped the reduced scrutiny and pressure surrounding the EFL Cup would have helped the summer signing, but Lindelof once again struggled.

The former Benfica man failed to deal with a long kick forward against Huddersfield and was guilty of similar here, making a mess of an attempted clearance and almost allowing Andre Ayew to score for Swansea. He did not look at all comfortable thereafter, and has plenty of work to do if he is to establish himself as a regular starter in the United backline.

Edited by Aakanksh Sanketh