Manchester United left with red faces after wasted opportunities let Swansea off the hook Having come into the game on the back of successive defeats against Norwich and Tottenham, Swansea played with a surprising swagger and unsettled a United back four that included the fit-again Nemanja Vidic at its heart. When Michu got beyond him in the seventh minute, a better strike might have brought greater reward. It was United, however, who made the breakthrough, Patrice Evra on target with the most simple of headers in the 16th minute. Van Persie's near-post corner caught Ben Davies napping and the Frenchman rose to find the far corner. An invigorated United tried to press home their advantage but Young's cross to Rooney was cut out by Dwight Tiendalli and Antonio Valencia had a shot blocked by Davies. However, the visitors" profligacy was punished when they conceded a 25th league goal of the season. Jonathan de Guzman was allowed time and space in the box before forcing David de Gea into a smart stop at his near post, and Michu stole a yard on Vidic to make no mistake from point-blank range. Van Persie was a figure of frustration as United struggled to breach the Swansea defence and his anger boiled over 15 minutes from time as he confronted Williams - the Dutchman convinced the Swansea player had aimed an attempted clearance straight at his head as the striker lay on the ground. Van Persie almost had the perfect retort when he struck the crossbar with a trademark volley from a dozen yards, before Vorm kept out Carrick's header and Young wasted two ­scoring opportunities. Second-half substitute Javier Hernández also had a decent chance but his tame shot summed up United's quality in the final third. The fact that United now have only a four-point lead probably accounts for the vehemence of Ferguson's post-match blast at Williams. However, despite the Scot's conviction that this was a game they should have won he will surely spend the festive period wondering why they did not.