Manchester United: Rating the Red Devils' Players vs. Swansea

David Moyes' first competitive match as Manchester United's manager could hardly have gone better.

In front of slightly more than 20,000 people at the Liberty Stadium, the Red Devils stormed to a comprehensive 4-1 victory on the back of braces from Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck.

Swansea are a highly technical side and can be very tricky to handle in Wales. Yet Moyes' men were in firm control for much of the game, largely stifling the Swans' attack and shredding their defense with clearly superior attacking talent.

It is obviously irrational to pontificate based on the first result of the season, but Manchester United fans will certainly feel confident in their team's chances of repeating as Premier League champions under its second manager since 1986.

For now, though, let's look at how each player performed, using a scale of 1-10 to denote ascending quality.

Substitutes

Wayne Rooney: 7

Perhaps Rooney could yet be a part of Moyes' plans. He appeared slightly rusty after being introduced for Ryan Giggs on the hour but never ceased running in the final third and set up Danny Welbeck's late chipped goal.

Anderson: N/A

The Brazilian managed to avoid injury during the five minutes he was on the pitch.

Starters

David de Gea: 6.5

The Spanish goalkeeper did not have much to do during the match, as United's defense remained largely watertight. He was once beaten by Michu, though that goal was nullified due to the offside rule, and once legitimately by Wilfried Bony.

Phil Jones: 7

In the absence of Rafael, Jones was forced to play out of position on the right flank of the defense, and it worked pretty well.

He is obviously not able to compensate wholly for the Brazilian's attacking threat, but he respected his limits and capably guarded his side of the pitch until Bony slipped through when it no longer mattered.

Rio Ferdinand: 6

Ferdinand, the old standby at centre-back, obviously played well enough to keep Swansea at bay for almost the entire match but was the worse of the two central defenders.

His passes were not quite as crisp as required at times, and Bony gave him a bit of a runaround during the second half. Indeed, Ferdinand was largely at fault for the Ivorian's goal.

Nemanja Vidic: 7.5

As always, the captain was a rock in the middle of defense. His partnership with Ferdinand has been forged by time and pressure-filled situations, and his unyielding presence is the basis for much of United's success further up the pitch.

Patrice Evra: 7

In a way, Evra began the move that led to Danny Welbeck's second goal. This provides an appropriate reason to mention that the Frenchman has retained a fair amount of his verve, even as he advances into his 30s.

That said, he did look a bit stretched during Swansea's more enterprising attacks down his flank.

Michael Carrick: 6.5

He's...Michael Carrick. He'll perform a largely boring role in the center of the pitch, keep things moving and occasionally contribute a stop or two in defense. That was exactly what he did in the opener, although one needed to observe the game closely to detect that he was in it.

Tom Cleverley: 6.5

One usually expects a more obvious display of quality from Cleverley than Carrick, but both Englishmen were nearly equally anonymous.

As expected, Cleverley was more involved on the attacking side of the ball and occasionally impressed, but he'll look forward to getting more involved in the next game.

Ryan Giggs: 8

Thus begins professional season No. 23 for one of the most remarkable men to ever play football. And Giggs showed very few signs of the fact that he is about to turn 40 in a few months.

The Welshman patrolled the center of the pitch for the hour he was on it, flashing an impressive bit of technical skill to set up Robin van Persie's brilliant opener with a lofted ball right into the teeth of Swansea's defense.

Giggs certainly does not look to be a mere figurehead for the club he has served so extensively and with such quality.

Antonio Valencia: 7.5

Valencia is best on the counterattack, and he shone once again when Manchester United had an opportunity to run right at a stretched Swansea defense.

His knack for slicing at speed allowed him to put the ball on a plate for Danny Welbeck to score his first goal, and he remained a potent threat throughout the match.

Danny Welbeck: 8.5

The homegrown Englishman undoubtedly has a cascade of world-class talent to compete with for, at most, two striking spots.

He did a wonderful job of persuading David Moyes to include him more often.

Welbeck's first goal was a real poacher's finish inside the box, and the second was the sort of delicious piece of skill that one marvels at when produced by the boot of Lionel Messi.

Robin van Persie: 9

If anyone topped Danny Welbeck's show at the Liberty Stadium, it could only have been Robin van Persie.

Who could deny that a healthy van Persie is the favorite to win this season's Golden Boot, which would be his third in a row? He might also be in contention for goal of the season after he spectacularly drove Manchester United into the lead with a sizzling acrobatic volley.

He played an integral part in Welbeck's goal a couple minutes later and gave Michel Vorm absolutely no chance when he registered his second, and the team's third, goal of the day.

If van Persie is indeed continuing the seemingly endlessly rich vein of form that he struck during the last couple seasons, Manchester United will be extraordinarily difficult to unseat as Premier League champions.

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