Manchester United manager David Moyes was relieved to open his first Barclays Premier League campaign with the defending champions with an impressive 4-1 win over Swansea yesterday.
Robin van Persie's double, with two also for Danny Welbeck, ensured Moyes avoided a potential banana skin at the Liberty Stadium, before Wilfried Bony netted a consolation.
When asked if the scoreline was a relief, Moyes said: "Yes it is because you always want to win your games and as manager of Manchester United the job is to win the games. The players did that today.
"Swansea had a lot of the ball and they passed it very well and are very well managed under Michael Laudrup, but we limited to them to few opportunities. We could have played better at times, but we're happy to win 4-1."
One of the big talking points ahead of kick-off is the future of United striker Wayne Rooney. Moyes gave a big hint that the England forward could be set to remain at Old Trafford this season as he started him from the bench, with Rooney claiming the assist for Van Persie's second. Rooney was introduced for the final half hour and received a warm ovation from the United fans.
"He got 65 minutes against Scotland and I felt he could do a job today if he came in," Moyes said. "He's not done a lot of training, but he came on and had a great run. It will be great for Wayne to get those minutes on the pitch. People know good players and Wayne is a good player and you want them in the team."
Van Persie's contribution was sublime. He hooked in the opener before smashing home a 20-yard effort 17 minutes from time, and the Dutchman was also delighted to get off to a winning start.
He declared: "The first goal changed the game and we got the second shortly after so it helped us. The first one I had a touch and felt at the time it was quite heavy so I had to take the shot as high as possible. The first game is one you don't want to lose. We worked hard so I'm very pleased."
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