Swansea City delivered a festive treat with a scintillating first-half display to secure a convincing Boxing Day win over Queens Park Rangers at the Swansea.com Stadium.
The Swans raced into a 3-0 lead within 33 minutes, with Liam Cullen’s clinical double taking his season tally to nine goals, and Gonçalo Franco adding his first goal for the club in a dominant performance.
They could have extended their advantage further before the break, such was their control, but a composed second-half showing saw them comfortably return to winning ways.
Head coach Luke Williams had urged his team to entertain fans during the festive season, and they responded with an exciting display of attacking football, relentless pressing, and fluid movement.
The match also saw a milestone moment for Swansea City academy graduate Ben Lloyd, who made his senior debut, continuing the club’s tradition of promoting young talent.
Florian Bianchini, Ronald, and Franco returned to the starting line-up following last weekend’s defeat at Hull, with Žan Vipotnik, Myles Peart-Harris, and Jay Fulton making way.
“I thought it was a fantastic performance. It was a brilliant performance and I am very happy,” said a delighted Luke Williams in his post-match interview.
The Swans return to action on Sunday, when Luton Town are the visitors to the Swansea.com stadium.
Team Lineups
Swansea City: Lawrence Vigouroux; Josh Key, Ben Cabango, Harry Darling, Josh Tymon; Matt Grimes (captain), Gonçalo Franco (Jay Fulton 86), Liam Cullen (Ben Lloyd 86); Ronald (Azeem Abdulai 86), Jisung Eom (Myles Peart-Harris 61); Florian Bianchini (Žan Vipotnik 77)
Unused Substitutes: Jon McLaughlin, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, Cyrus Christie, Kyle Naughton.
Queens Park Rangers: Paul Nardi, Jimmy Dunne, Morgan Fox, Jake Clarke-Salter, Kenneth Paal (Harrison Ashby 46), Jonathan Varane, Sam Field (captain), Kieran Morgan (Nicolas Madsen 46), Koki Saito (Ilias Chair 46), Rayan Kolli (Michael Frey 67), Paul Smyth (Lucas Andersen 84).
Unused Substitutes: Joe Walsh, Elijah Dixon-Bonner, Danniel Bennie, Alfie Lloyd.
Referee: Ben Toner
Attendance: 15,843 including over 500 QPR fans.
Match Highlights
Watch extended highlights of the Swans dominant win over QPR at the Swansea.com stadium:
Feature Image Credit: Swansea City Football Club