Lingard at the double as United spurred on by Jose's words

It may have been "only" Swansea and "only" the Carabao Cup, but Tuesday night's win in South Wales was an important one in the context of our season.Ahead of Saturday's vital home match against high-flying Spurs, we were in desperate need of firstly a result and secondly, a strong performance.

Against Paul Clement's side, Jose got both. Our next away match is the small matter of the trip to Stamford Bridge, so tougher tests certainly await. But this was the first hurdle that we had to clear to get our slightly faltering season back on track and we did just that. 

Having rightly ripped into his players after the abject Huddersfield horror show, in which Jose criticised our attitude, the team responded with a professional, clinical and comfortable win. This was Mourinho's 400th game in English football as a manager and he said the team's  application and concentration, like the result, was much improved from the weekend.

"Our attitude was very good, I am happy. We were solid, comfortable, we were in control.
"We were solid and professional from the first minute and I am pleased with the performance of the team and individuals." United's desire, commitment and passion deserted them for the 90 minutes on Saturday, but, to paraphrase a certain former Liverpool manager, we showed great character in victory. 

Unsurprisingly, there were seven changes in a youthful and rejigged line-up, and Jose's barbed words certainly seemed to have the desired effect for the rotated Reds. Three of the players involved at the John Smith's Stadium - Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial - set the pace for a vibrant and energetic United start.

Lingard's two goals were well taken and superbly crafted, with the second one in particular a classic United strike. Young defender Axel Tuanzebe began the play, which culminated in a rare Lingard header beyond Kristoffer Nordfeldt after a sweeping team move.

This was, at time, a glimpse of the free-flowing and clinical United that we saw before the untimely international break that checked our momentum.  Watford striker Troy Deeney blasted Arsenal's lack of "cojones" after their recent defeat at Vicarage Road and the Gunners have hit back strongly with three successive wins since. 

As United fans, we have to hope that Mourinho's outburst will have a similar impact on our players following the early season blip. Every team has a setback, we had to get the Huddersfield defeat out of the system and go into Spurs with a win under our belts.  We did so, but a positive riposte in the League Cup at Swansea is one thing - a repeat performance against two of the league's high flyers is quite another. 

Match report: Swansea City 0-2 United

Jesse Lingard scored twice for holders United as the much changed Reds progressed to the Carabao Cup quarter finals.

It was a dominant and solid response from Saturday's Huddersfield horror show, with Sergio Romero only tested in stoppage time.

Jose Mourinho had ripped into the team after the loss in Yorkshire and made seven changes from that line-up, including Academy graduates Axel Tuanzebe and Scott McTominay.

United started strongly and went close early on through Chris Smalling, who headed over the bar from a Marcus Rashford corner.

Stand-in Swans stopper Kristoffer Nordtfeldt then saved well from Lingard, but it was he who put United ahead on 21 minutes.

Ander Herrera played the ball in to Rashford, whom in turn found his England colleague with a neat reverse pass, and Lingard did the rest with a well-taken finish beyond Nordfeldt.

Victor Lindelof blocked well from Wayne Routledge when he found himself one-on-one, and there was danger again soon afterwards for the visitors.

Daley Blind's deflected clearing header spun off Oliver McBurnie and wrong-footed Romero, but the ball rolled narrowly wide of the post with the keeper beaten.

McTominay went close from distance with a 25-yarder at the other end shortly before the interval.

United had soon put the result beyond any lingering doubt, however, when we moved 2-0 ahead on the hour mark.

At the culmination of a superb, sweeping team move that involved six players, Matteo Darmian picked out Lingard and he headed home from eight yards for his third goal of the season.

Like McTominay, Tuanzebe went close to a first United goal when he was denied by a smart stop by Nordfeldt and then fired the loose ball over the bar on the rebound.

Swansea introduced Tammy Abraham on 72 minutes, and the striker almost made an instant impact within minutes of coming on.

Romero had been a virtual spectator but was finally called into action as he tipped behind Abraham's speculative 25-yard strike. 

The hat-trick hunting Lingard fired wide and then volleyed a second effort straight at the keeper, but the Reds had done more than enough. 

Romero saved superbly from Leroy Fer in the dying minutes, but the Reds had done more than enough to ensure safe passage into the last eight.

Teenage striker Edward Nketiah came off the bench and scored twice as Arsenal beat Norwich, whilst City squeaked past Championship leaders Wolves on penalties to also go through.

Chelsea host Everton on Wednesday with the draw for the quarter-finals to follow. 

Overall team performance: 7.5/10
United Faithful Man of the Match: Jesse Lingard. Scored two excellent goals and proved a thorn in Swansea's side throughout. 

Carabao Cup preview: Swansea City v United

United have an early opportunity to bounce back from Saturday's loss as we continue our Carabao Cup defence in south Wales.

Less than 48 hours after the shock defeat at the John Smith's Stadium comes a chance for the Reds to offer a much-needed response, ahead of Spurs visit to Old Trafford on Saturday. 

United midfield Juan Mata said: "It's time to learn from mistakes and keep going, as we always do, we need to show that the team sticks together when things don't go so well.
"Since the European Super Cup defeat, we've been performing well against all opponents, but on Saturday Huddersfield took all three points and we congratulate them.
"We move on, this is not a sprint but a marathon and there's still a long way to go." 

The Reds travel to Paul Clement's Swansea in the fourth round boosted by the return of Ivorian centre-back Eric Bailly. 
Phil Jones will be assessed having limped off in that loss to Huddersfield, with Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all ruled out.

Sergio Romero, Daley Blind, Luke Shaw and Matteo Darmian are all in contention to feature for a rotated Reds side. 

For the hosts, Kyle Bartley (knee), Renato Sanches (thigh) and Wilfried Bony (thigh) are all sidelined, and Leroy Fer is suspended. 

The Swans come into the game in indifferent form, having picked up four points from their last six league games after a 2-1 defeat to Leicester, with Michael Appleton in caretaker charge of the Foxes. 

Both the Swans and United saw off lower league opposition in the third round to set up this first ever League Cup meeting. 
Goals from Alfie Mawson and Jordan Ayew earned Clement's side a 2-0 win at Championship Reading while United also saw off second tier opposition last time out.

Nigel Clough's Burton Albion were put to the sword at Old Trafford as the holders brushed aside the Brewers with an Anthony-Martial inspired 4-1 thrashing. 

In the pick of the other fourth round ties, Arsenal and Manchester City both face Championship opposition, in the shape of Norwich and Wolves respectively.

On Wednesday, Chelsea host managerless Everton and West Ham travel to Spurs in a London derby between two sides in starkly contrasting form.

Form guide: Swansea City D W L L W L United W W W D W L 
Match odds: Swansea City 13/2 Draw 16/5 United 4/1 
Referee: Bobby Madley (West Yorkshire) 

Too early to write off Lindelof despite inauspicious start

United's  summer signing Victor Lindelof epitomised his team's performance with an afternoon to forget at Huddersfield.

The Swedish centre-back has been on the end of scathing criticism after he misjudged Jonas Lossl's long ball to allow Laurent Depoitre in to score.

Lindelof had previously only played a single minute of league football having come on in the closing seconds of United's draw at Anfield. 

He was pressed into service as a substitute after 23 minutes at the John Smith's Stadium when Phil Jones was forced off with a knee injury. 

He did not cover himself in glory in a nervous performance that suggests he may not be ready for the Premier League.

But United manager Jose Mourinho refused to blame his player, insisting that it's unfair to point the finger at certain individuals for the team's collective shortcomings.

Lindelof arrived from Benfica for £31m in the summer as a highly-rated centre-back who had been wanted by Mourinho for two years.

Lindelof has made five starts for United - the Super Cup match against Madrid, the Carabao Cup at home to Burton and all three Champions League ties.

Like Henrikh Mkhitaryan last season, Jose has used the defender sparingly to give him time to adapt to the rigours of the English game.

Mkhitaryan was frozen out of the side as he needed to be fitter, but he was eventually given his chance and the Armenian has developed into one of this side's most creative players. 

There can be no argument that it's been a poor start to life at United for Lindelof, but he's certainly not alone.

David de Gea struggled in his first season at Old Trafford and Patrice Evra was subbed off at half-time on his debut in the Manchester derby.

Both were written off as flops, but developed into key members of Sir Alex's all-conquering United side and went on the become the world's best goalkeeper and left-back respectively. 

Moving to the club is a huge step up, but Evra and de Gea were both afforded time and patience and look what happened. 

Mourinho rarely makes bad signings and, at still only 23, Lindelof has age on his side to develop and turn things around. 

United travel to Swansea in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and the Swede is set to be given another opportunity to prove his worth. 

Like his team mates, he must show his character and resolve to respond and get back on track.

United must end malaise quickly to reignite season

The defeat at Huddersfield was bad and unacceptable, but the result should be put into context.

We're only nine games in and this was our first defeat, so it's hardly reason to panic and say we're in crisis.
It's still early days and we're five points behind City at the top of the league with Spurs breathing down our necks.

Second in the league and on the brink of qualification to the knockout stages in Europe, the overall bigger picture doesn't look too bad. 

Pep Guardiola's side look nailed on for the title at present, but it's hard to envisage that they will maintain this blistering, relentless pace for the rest of the season. 

Like every team, there will surely be a blip on the horizon somewhere and we need to be in a position to capitalise when it comes. 

United face Mauricio Pochettino's high-flying side next at Old Trafford on Saturday, in a game that already looked hugely important for both sides respective ambitions this season.

Now, it's even more vital as the Reds must get their season back on track.

You can lose games in this league but potential champions are measured by the ability and strength of character to respond to setbacks.

The fixtures are coming thick and fast and, starting with Swansea on Tuesday, that's exactly what we must do - pick ourselves up and roll again. 

Ander Herrera's comments that the team lacked passion and stomach for the fight at Huddersfield were brutally honest, but also worrying.

Some have said that the fact we played newly-promoted Huddersfield, straight after a European excursion, may have been the reason why the players struggled for to 'get up' for the match. 

There may be an element of truth in that, but these are players at Manchester United and that should be motivation enough.

Putting on the United shirt should be all the inspiration you need, no matter what the game or occasion.

For any professional football team - let alone one fighting for the Premier League title - to lack the passion and desire to win any given match is an embarrassment.

It's a shocking, unforgivable admission that would be unthinkable during the days of Sir Alex.

Mourinho appeared as baffled as anyone afterwards but he should not escape criticism.

Jose said in his press conference that the players would not underestimate Huddersfield and would be ready, but, quite frankly, they weren't.

The players let their manager, club and fans down but Mourinho needs to look himself too and question why the players showed no effort or commitment. 

United's season depends on how we recover.. 

Brilliant Huddersfield end horrible United's unbeaten start

Where to begin after that..

Firstly, credit must go to David Wagner's well-drilled, efficient and organised Huddersfield Town team. But what on earth was that from our team?

The tenacious Terriers fully deserved their win and to suggest otherwise would be to do them a dis-service.

United manager Jose Mourinho admitted that the better team won, and was full of praise for Huddersfield's emotion, aggression, intensity and desire. They were everything that we weren't: quick, strong, hungry, energetic and first to every ball - they 100% merited the result. 

For us, however, this was a horror show that will want to be forgotten in a hurry. This was the worst performance by a United side for many a year (that's saying something considering we've suffered the Moyes and Van Gaal 'eras') and certainly the worst of Mourinho's tenure so far.

As fans, you can accept defeat if your team gives everything, shows the right commitment and desire but still comes up short. 

What was not acceptable however, was the lack of fight and lackadaisical attitude from everyone in Red yesterday. Huddersfield worked harder than us, there was no passion and it simply was not good enough from a team who are supposedly going for the title this season.

Jose said afterwards that the team's attitude was "worse than a friendly match"... how that can be the case in a huge Premier League game beggars belief and explanation. 
Ander Herrera's brutal honesty was refreshing but the players should be made to come out in public and explain that performance. 

Missing Ivorian centre-back Eric Bailly, we lost our other first-choice central defender in the 23rd minute. Phil Jones has had a superb season, arguably his best in a United shirt to date, but his injury misfortune resurfaced again when he went down with an injured knee in the first half.

His replacement, £31m summer signing Victor Lindelof, epitomised his side's collective showing with a torrid individual performance. He was at fault for Huddersfield's second goal as he failed to deal with a simple ball upfield and allowed Laurent Depoitre in to score.  United looked nervy with the Swede alongside Chris Smalling, and although it's still early in his Old Trafford career, Lindelof's start to life at United has been inauspicious so far. 

United lacked tempo and intensity all over the pitch, and Jose attempted to change that in the second half when he altered our formation. Herrera was pressed into service as an auxiliary member of United's back three, with Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young used as wing-backs. 

We were fortunate not to lose at Liverpool and this will act as a reality check for Jose and the team.
Of course you can lose games in this league, and Crystal Palace beat Chelsea last week, but the key now will be how we respond to this setback.

With crucial games against top six rivals Spurs and Antonio Conte's champions on the horizon, the Reds must put this behind us and refocus to get the season back on track.

Match report: Huddersfield 2-1 United

Huddersfield Town stunned a desperately poor United side and ended the Reds unbeaten start to the season with a full deserved victory.

This was a day to forget for an out of sorts United, who fell 2-0 behind by half time through goals from Aaron Mooy and Laurent Depoitre.
Substitute Marcus Rashford pulled a goal back, but a draw would have been unfair on a Terriers side who lived up to their nickname with a tenacious performance.

United had conceded only twice in eight league games but that tally was doubled in five first half minutes after two sloppy defensive errors that were clinically punished. 

Romelu Lukaku had an early effort saved by Jonas Lossl, but that was the closest the Reds came for the rest of the half.

Phil Jones has enjoyed a superb season at the heart of United's defence, but he was added to our ever-lengthening injury list having hurt his knee in a coming together with Elias Kachunga.

Huddersfield opened the scoring shortly before the half hour mark when Juan Mata was caught in possession by Mooy, whom in turn picked out Paul Ince's son Tom.
He collected the ball and had a shot saved by David de Gea but the rebound fell to Mooy who followed up to score and send the John Smith's Stadium into raptures.

Five minutes later, United were exposed again as Victor Lindelof, who had come on for Jones, failed to deal with Lossl's long ball up the middle. 
The Swedish centre-back misjudged the bounce and Depoitre ran through, rounded de Gea and rolled the ball in.

Nemanja Matic had a shot deflected wide and Ashley Young - probably United's best player on the day - went close with a shot from distance shortly after the interval. 

The expected onslaught did not arrive until Ander Herrera had a header parried by Lossl after Young had picked him out. 

That belatedly kick-started United into life and the Reds gave themselves hope 12 minutes from time through Marcus Rashford.

The substitute headed home from close range on 78 minutes after excellent wing work from Lukaku.

Despite four added minutes, United were unable even to carve out another opportunity, until makeshift striker Chris Smalling had a shot blocked in the dying seconds.

Huddersfield proved resilient opponents who defendly doggedly in the closing stages and celebrated wildly at full-time, having inflicted United's first league defeat of the season.

Overall team performance: 0/10
United Faithful Man of the Match: Ashley Young was the best of a bad bunch