English Premier League: Bafetimbi Gomis sinks Man Utd

Reported Manchester United transfer target Bafetimbi Gomis sunk Louis van Gaal’s team with his ninth goal in 10 English Premier League matches as Swansea won 2-1 at its Liberty Stadium Sunday.

United took the lead through Juan Mata just after the halftime break, but was stunned by goals from Andre Ayew and Gomis to slip to a first league defeat of the season.

The Red Devils were hoping to move into second spot behind city rival Manchester City with a win and all looked well when Mata connected with a Luke Shaw cross to put the visitors ahead.

Swansea defender Ashley Williams was at fault as he hesitated for the goal but he was to redeem himself almost immediately.

He intercepted a sloppy pass from Wayne Rooney and charged forward before finding Gylfi Sigurdsson, whose cross was well met by Ayew to equalize.

Summer signing Ghana international Ayew then set up the winner with a delightful pass for Gomis to beat Sergio Romero with a low shot.

The United goalkeeper, replacing Real Madrid target David de Gea in the early season games, might have prevented the goal as Gomis scored for the fourth straight game from the start of the season.

United sought a late equalizer, but Rooney, who spurned a couple of first half openings, was again at fault as he looked set to score but delayed too long and Williams nipped in to make a saving tackle.

It was unheralded Swansea’s third straight win over United, lifting the Welsh side to fourth in the early standings.

Rooney goal drought

Rooney, despite his midweek hat-trick as Manchester United progressed into the Champions League, is enduring a lean patch in club football and has not scored in 10 Premier League games, dating back to April.

United’s lack of goals, just three in four EPL games, may increase the pressure on van Gaal to target a striker before the transfer window closes this week, with the 30-year-old Gomis one of a number of targets being mentioned.

But the Dutchman did not believe this was the problem in the Swansea defeat.

“We were 1-0 ahead and dominating the game,” van Gaal told the club’s TV channel.

“We could have scored many more goals – I don’t think that is the problem,” he added.

United fans will also look with more than a passing interest at the signings of Manchester City, which completed a massive £55 million ($84.7m) deal to sign Belgium international midfielder Kevin de Bruyne from Bundesliga Wolfsburg Sunday.

It is the second biggest fee paid by an English club after United’s £59.7m ($91.9m) signing of Angel Di Maria.

Former Chelsea star de Bruyne has impressed City manager Manuel Pellegrini, who has led his team to four straight wins at the start of the season.

“We like to play attacking, attractive football. Bringing in a player like this will only aid us.

“He has all of the mental, physical, tactical and technical attributes required to fit straight in,” he told the club’s official website.

Juve slumps again

In Serie A, defending champion Juventus suffered another chastening defeat, beaten 2-1 by AS Roma and having Patrice Evra sent off.

Having lost its opening fixture, the Old Lady was stunned by the capital side as Miralem Pjanic opened the scoring with a free kick in the second half,.

New Roma signing Edin Dzeko added a second goal late in the match before Paulo Dybala pulled one back for Juve, but it was too little too late, pointless after two Serie A games in its bid for a fifth title.

Read: Chelsea slumps to fresh defeat

One of the biggest talking points centered on a deal that did not go through -- Real Madrid claims it received David De Gea's registration from Manchester United too late to make the Spanish deadline. The goalkeeper was the most talked about individual on deadline day, according to Twitter.

The most talked about English Premier League deal on Twitter during the European window was Chelsea's capture of winger Pedro from Barcelona for $33.5m. The Spain international arrives off the back of a treble-winning season with the Spanish giants and also boasts a World Cup and European Championship.

Manchester United splashed a reported $55 million on 19-year-old French forward Anthony Martial, who agreed a four-year deal to leave Monaco ahead of the September 1 British deadline.

Manchester City's long-running bid to sign Kevin De Bruyne finally ended after the English club paid Germany's Wolfsburg £55 million ($84.7m) for the highly-rated Belgium midfielder on August 30.

Mario Balotelli has joined former club AC Milan on a season-long loan from Liverpool. The striker previously spent 18 months at the San Siro and has returned there after struggling to make an impact with the Reds since signing last summer.

Juventus has signed Colombia international Juan Cuadrado from Chelsea on loan for the season. Cuadrado only joined the Blues in February from Fiorentina for a reported $35.9 million, but has since been deemed surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City made Nicolas Otamendi one of the most expensive defenders in history after paying Valencia $50m for his services. The Argentina international -- who was part of the Copa America team that lost out to Chile in the final -- has signed a five-year-deal with the club,

Aston Villa has secured the signing of 19-year-old winger Adama Traore from Barcelona for $13.3 million. Traore, the English Premier League club's 10th buy this summer, has penned a five-year deal at Villa Park. Barca has inserted a buy-back clause in the deal enabling it to bring Traore back to the Camp Nou.

Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has joined Roma on a season-long loan deal with a view to a permanent transfer. The 29-year-old scored an impressive 72 goals from just 117 starts for City, but struggled to hold down a regular first-team spot.

Stoke City has broken its club transfer record to sign Xherdan Shaqiri from Inter Milan for $18.7 million. The Switzerland international, who has inked a five-year contract, spent just seven months at Inter after joining from Bayern Munich in January.

Angel Di Maria has joined Paris Saint-Germain -- just one year after signing for Manchester United for a British record fee. United paid $93.2 million to bring the Argentina international to Old Trafford last summer, but after a frustrating first season he has now moved to the French Ligue 1 champion for a reported $69.2 million.

Chelsea have loaned out Mohamed Salah to Roma for the season. The deal includes an option for the Italian Serie A club to purchase the midfielder at any point during the campaign.

Bayern Munich has completed the signing of Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal from Juventus. "The King" has signed a four-year-deal with the Bundesliga champion after returning from his holiday following the Copa America win with his country.

Sergio Romero has joined Manchester United on a free transfer from Italian team Sampdoria after his contract expired. It is the second time Louis van Gaal has signed the Argentine, previously bringing him to AZ Alkmaar when he was manager in 2007.

Raheem Sterling has completed his move to Manchester City from Liverpool. The 20-year-old is the most expensive English player ever, signing for a reported $76 million. He scored his first goal for the club on his debut in a friendly against AS Roma.

Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas has joined Portuguese club Porto. The Spanish goalkeeper won every major trophy available, including one World Cup and two European Championships with his country.

Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has agreed to join Manchester United from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on a three-year-deal. The 30-year-old has won every major trophy available and captained his country to World Cup victory in Brazil last year.

France international Morgan Schneiderlin completes his move from Southampton to Manchester United for a reported fee of $39 million. "I am delighted to be a Manchester United player. Once I learned that United were interested in signing me, it was a very easy decision to make," he said after signing a four-year-deal.

Carlos Tevez's $7.2 million move to Boca Juniors from Juventus has been confirmed by the Italian club. The Argentine is returning "home" after beginning his professional career with the Buenos Aires-based club back in 2001.

Robin van Persie has completed his move from Manchester United to Fenerbahce. The 31-year-old enjoyed a Premier League title-winning debut season under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2012/13, but struggled to make an impact since his departure.

Chelsea confirm the signing of Bosnian goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from Stoke City on a four-year-deal. The 28-year-old will take the No. 1 shirt vacated by Petr Cech.

Chelsea confirm the signing of Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan from French club Monaco. The former Atletico Madrid forward managed just four goals in 29 appearances for Manchester United last season.

Andrea Pirlo completes his move from Juventus to MLS side New York City FC. The 36-year-old joins up with Frank Lampard and David Villa.

Firmino (left) is congratulated by his teammate Willian after scoring the winning goal against Venezuela in the Copa America. Liverpool have signed the 23-year-old for around $45 million from German Club Hoffenheim.

Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina has joined Italian club Napoli from German champions Bayern Munich. Reina had a previous loan spell in Naples during the 2013-14 season.

Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic signs for Champions League runner-up Juventus from Atletico de Madrid for a reported $20.5m.

World Cup winner Sami Khedira signs a four-year contract with Juventus. He joins the Serie A side on July 1 when his contract with Real Madrid expires.

Liverpool complete the signing of 22-year-old striker Danny Ings for a reported fee of $18.3m.

Memphis Depay heads to Manchester United off the back of a prolific, title-winning season with PSV Eindhoven for around $34m.

James Milner turned down a contract extension at Manchester City to sign with Liverpool.

Champions League finalists Juventus signed Paulo Dybala from Seria A rivals Palermo for $35m.

Despite its transfer ban, Barcelona signed Sevilla's Europa League-winning player Aleix Vidal for $24.4m. It has been a rapid rise to the top for Vidal, who was playing in the second division with Almeria just two years ago.

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