Why Van Persie Is Under Most Pressure for Manchester United After Swansea Game

Robin van Persie is not alone in having underperformed for Manchester United, either in terms of the season as a whole or the game on Saturday against Swansea City.

However, his performance against the Swans was so poor he is the player awarded the unwanted title of "most under pressure" after United's trip to Wales.

There are other contenders for the crown, including the manager. A loss in this game borders on disastrous for United's attempts to return to the Champions League, assuming their form does not improve considerably ahead of the tougher challenges that lie just ahead.

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In his defence, though, he could justifiably point to improvements in United's incision and fluidity up until the final moments of possession. He could also say that Ashley Young had an enormous impact when he came on, justifying the Dutchman's substitution.

Of Van Persie's fellow players, any of the starting back four could give him a run for his money in terms of the pressure on their shoulders following their performances. However, Luke Shaw and Paddy McNair have the excuse of youth.

Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have in their favour the fact that Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans have probably been worse than them across the course of the season.

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United's midfielders were reasonably effective without being outstanding—except perhaps the excellent Ander Herrera, who fully justified the recent calls for his inclusion with his performance.

Marouane Fellaini was clumsy in the tackle, slightly lacking in terms of his passing and ineffective in the box, but expectations of the Belgian are never particularly high.

Angel Di Maria did not exactly shine, but his five key passes were the most of any United player. He registered an assist for Herrera's goal and often looked likely to make something happen. It is not good enough, of course, but it hardly puts him in the firing line.

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Van Persie, even before sustaining the injury that resulted in him leaving the ground on crutches, per the club's official website, had a terrible game.

The most telling Van Persie-related statistic from the game is that of his seven shots, only one was on target. He managed to get himself into some decent positions, and his team-mates managed to find him once he had, but his execution was diabolical.

One first-half shot lashed the crossbar, but almost every other of his seven attempts was lacklustre. His one shot on target caused Lukasz Fabianski no difficulties.

One poor performance does not justify enormous pressure, but Van Persie's form has been problematic for a long time now. So far this season, he has scored 10 league goals, having started 24 of United's 26 league games.

That is not a dismal return by any means, even if it is below the expectations he established in his brilliant first season at the club.

However, half of those goals came in a six-game purple patch in November and December. Since his goal against Newcastle United on Boxing Day, he has scored just twice in nine games, and one of those was a penalty against Burnley. Other than those six games, he has been scoring at a rate of one in every four games, which is a very long way below where he needs to be.

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Many column inches have, understandably, been dedicated to Radamel Falcao's difficulties fitting in at United and whether he should be kept on for next season. In truth, that is also a question that needs to be asked of Van Persie.

Whatever happens in the future, Van Persie will always be fondly remembered at United for his spectacular contribution to Sir Alex Ferguson's final, triumphant, 20th league-title-winning season.

However, little that he has done since then has lived up to his performances in 2012/13. United need him fit and firing now almost as much as they did then. After his awful showing against Swansea, he is under considerable pressure to perform.

All statistics per WhoScored.com