Swansea City vs. Manchester United: Score and Reaction from 2016 Premier League

A Zlatan Ibrahimovic brace spurred Manchester United to a 3-1 victory over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, where Paul Pogba also returned to form with an early goal-of-the-season contender.

The Red Devils rebounded back to winning form in style and took their first three-point haul since September to move into sixth place, while Swans manager Bob Bradley saw his side fail to win for their 10th game in succession.

Pogba's beautifully taken half-volley from outside the box opened the floodgates that saw Ibrahimovic pile in for his second Premier League brace of the campaign. Meanwhile, Mike van der Hoorn netted the hosts' sole strike. Manager Jose Mourinho started Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo at centre-back, while Ashley Young and Matteo Darmian featured at right-back and left-back, respectively.

Club captain Wayne Rooney dazzled in the absence of benched Marcus Rashford by setting up both Ibrahimovic's goals, the first of which set a significant Premier League record, per the Press Association:

United ripped their opposition to shreds over the course of the opening 45 minutes, and it took only a third of that for Pogba's thumping half-volley to begin the torment in south Wales.

Although the Frenchman's performance was made up of more than just his opening strike, Pogba couldn't have hoped to catch his attempt any more sweetly.

That was just the second goal of Pogba's Premier League career thus far. But for Ibrahimovic, Sunday's outing was about returning to the prolific form he enjoyed straight after arriving in England's top flight.

The Swede cut in from the edge of the box before rolling a long-range attempt inside the near post of Lukasz Fabianski. ITV presenter Sam Homewood critiqued those who doubted his godly powers in front of goal:

That 21st-minute strike was the 25,000th in Premier League history, and it took the European veteran another 12 minutes to add the 25,001st to his account after linking up with Rooney in the Swans half.

Ibrahimovic collected his second of the day after breaking from midfield alongside his captain, bamboozling Angel Rangel before drilling low into the Swans goal, notching another career milestone in the process, per Sky Sports Statto:

Bradley's tactics may well have played into United's hands, but the away fans were nevertheless content with the performance witnessed over the course of the first 45 minutes.

It was also a special display from Rooney, whom OptaJoe pointed out as joining an elite club in the process of teeing up Ibrahimovic for his impact, too:

Bradley made his changes at the break and withdrew the pairing of Fernando Llorente and Wayne Routledge in place of Modou Barrow and Jefferson Montero, who each promised to bring some speed into the fray.

Those alterations gave the home outfit a route back into the fixture and even saw them dominate the share of shots on goal in the second half, per WhoScored.com, but their guests stood firm nonetheless.

The Liberty Stadium should have erupted with glee after Gylfi Sigurdsson's 69th-minute free-kick from the right flank found the head of Van der Hoorn, who pulled back what was at the time a crucial consolation.

However, Mike Keegan of the Daily Mail noted the protestations that followed any applause, with Swansea evidently a club in some crisis at the moment thanks to tension between the club's owners and fans:

Mourinho's mood was dealt another blow with a quarter of an hour remaining when Ibrahimovic was carded for dragging down Swansea substitute Leroy Fer, a move that had big implications for the striker:

United must now bank on the fitness of attacking duo Rashford and Anthony Martial, both of whom lined up on Mourinho's bench on Sunday without making an appearance.

Sadly for the Welsh club, it suited Mourinho's side all too much to defend a two-goal lead, and United proceeded to roll the ball around as Jesse Lingard and Morgan Schneiderlin made their way on in the last 10 minutes.

The Red Devils are on the rise after their first away-league victory since beating Hull City in August, although the international break now separates Mourinho's men from their next match, a home fixture against Arsenal on November 19.  

Bradley hasn't been able to correct Swansea's tailspin since arriving at the club's helm last month, but they might be facing next opponents Everton at the right time following their 5-0 hammering at Chelsea on Saturday.

Post-Match Reaction

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Mourinho watched Sunday's scramble from the stands as he served his touchline ban, but it turned out the side travelling to south Wales didn't need their boss present to get the better of the Swans.

For the first occasion in some time, the Portuguese could afford to be upbeat about a Premier League result, and he told MUTV he was "really, really pleased" after a "calm day" of work:

Brace-scorer Ibrahimovic also spoke to the media after the result and was asked whether he was aware he had scored the 25,000th Premier League goal at the time, to which he replied, per BBC Sport: "Ah, no I wasn't. I thought that was only me who had scored 25,000..."

Speaking on the prospect of missing the meeting against Arsenal through suspension in a fortnight's time, the striker added: "I thought we played rough in England? I play rough and I got a yellow card. What was it for? I don't know. Maybe I was too tired to hear why the referee gave it."