Garry Monk hails Swansea attacking threat after Chelsea draw

Swansea debutant Andre Ayew equalised six minutes later, finishing smartly after an initial attempt had been blocked, only for Chelsea to regain the lead when Willian’s cross deflected off Federico Fernandez and looped over visiting goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for a cruel own goal.

However, everything changed within 10 minutes of the restart, when Courtois felled Gomis as the France striker burst into the area on the break.

Oscar came off for Asmir Begovic to replace Courtois in the net, but Mourinho said he never considered adopting a defensive formation to try to hold on to a point.

Jose Mourinho says Tibo Courtois was carrying a knock ahead of the 2-2 draw with Swansea but he would not be drawn on the Belgian’s red card.

Swansea fans celebrated wildly as Gomis turned in their third – only to be rightly chalked off for offside – before Wayne Routledge, on for the injured Montero, forced another save from Begovic.

He said: “When we came here last year we did well for 45 minutes but today we were excellent for 90″.

Courtois was given his marching orders after racing out to upend Gomis as he got on the end of another fine Shelvey pass, and the French striker picked himself to send Begovic the wrong way from the spot.

It was one of very few chances in a scrappy match which Louis van Gaals new-look United started with four pre-season signings.

There was a feel-good factor around Stamford Bridge heading into the game, with the club basking the afterglow of last season’s success and the self-proclaimed Special One penning a new long-term deal.

Sergio Romero was in goal after Van Gaal decided that Real Madrid target David de Gea was not in the right frame of mind to play.

If this season’s Premier League title race is destined to be the tale of two goalkeepers, then owner Roman Abramovich may well have felt the first pang of remorse during Chelsea’s opening-day draw.

Shifting the faster Azpilicueta over to his favoured side might have mitigated the Ecuadorian’s threat somewhat, but that tactical tweak would have required a natural left-back that Chelsea presently do not have.

Monk added: “I think we’ll go from strength to strength”.

Courtois was a game-time decision for the match after injuring his knee during warmups.

“We played very well in the first half, the game was under control and the players were playing with more and more confidence”, he said.

“Bafe would have had a goalscoring opportunity when the keeper took him down and he took him down inside the area, so it’s definitely a penalty and obviously a red card”.

“They know that I am happy with the quality they had in the first half and with their spirit in the second half”.