De Gea – Can’t really blame him for either of the goals. He had a decent game to fair, and pulled off a few very good saves as well. 7
Smalling – Both goals came from his side of the defence yet, again, I can’t really fault him for that. Did well at the back but failed to add anything going forward, often leaving Rafael or Welbeck isolated. 6
Evans – Defended well and kept things simple at the back. He struggled when carrying the ball forward, something which has happened often in our recent matches. 6
Vidic – Held a relatively inexperienced defence together throughout the game with real leadership skills but struggled when dealing with aerial threats. Made an incredible clearance off the line early on. 6
Büttner – Very solid and relaxed at the back which impressed me given how ‘all over the place’ he normally is. Looked to push on when possible and stretch the game. 7
Rafael – Worked incredibly hard all game. He chased every pass and challenged for every tackle. Quality was a bit lacking with the crossing but he did excellent nonetheless. 7
Scholes – Showed his experience early on in the game and dictated the midfield battle with minimal ease. Lost his legs in the second half and was duly replaced. 6>Cleverley – Ran the show this evening with his fantastic off-the-ball movement and accuracy when passing the ball. Took his goal brilliantly and once again showed us all why Sir Alex rates him so highly. 8 (MOTM)
Kagawa – A real disappointment today. Failed to get involved all game and never really looked interested throughout. At least he got another 90 minutes under his belt to help him get his match-fitness back up to scratch. 4
Welbeck – Energetic, hard-working and exciting, Danny was always looking for the ball and was not afraid to take on players to try and ‘make something happen’ for us. 7
Hernandez – Disappointingly quiet all game but only because of the lack of service that came his way. Instead, he got hold of the ball himself and worked our first goal with a good cross. 6
Subs:
Van Persie – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a football player as ‘efficient’ on the ball as Robin van Persie. Every touch he takes on the ball ‘matters’. I’d hate to imagine where we’d be without him this season. He’s definitely in my list of ‘Top 5 current World Footballers’. 8
Valencia – Honestly, I don’t know what more to say about him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a United player decline the same way he has over the last six months which is a shame because I actually do rate him. 4
Giggs – Been saying it for a while now and I’m glad my faith in Giggsy is finally starting to pay off. He has plenty to offer our team yet, even at his young age. A calming influence on the pitch mixed with quality on the ball is a deadly combination. 8
Some of my thoughts:
Smalling – He still requires more matches to earn his experience. His passing was not accurate and he was not clam to hold the ball. 5
Büttner – His performance last night was just average. He looked so inexperience. Sometimes, his teammates weren’t willing to pass the ball to him. He still has a long way to meet Man Utd standard. Hopefully, attending more matches can help him grow faster. 5
Kagawa – He was a transparent man last night. He didn’t participate so much in the game. He should be the guy to change out, but don’t know why he didn’t. So far, I still don’t think he is fit for the team. 1
Scholes – Really not sure why he was changed out. Maybe it was because he got a yellow. If he didn’t change out, they could be more easy to come back after losing the 2nd goal. 7
Wellbeck – He was good but not that good as usual. I really hope he will be get much better to a higher level. 6
Valencia – Absolutely agreed that stated. I think we need Nani to take turn with him when any of them doesn’t in form. 3
Gigi – Although he was old, his experience helped the team last night. Not so many people in the team can have this skill. I think Fergie indeed needs to think to buy Sneijder to help them continue if either Gigi or Scoles is going to retire. 8
Agree with most of these ratings but thought Hernandez movement and link up play was excellent in the 1st half exemplified by his role and assist in Cleverleys goal and he was perfectly placed to open the scoring before that if Smalling had played the ball accurately. His first touch and strength under challenge is miles better than when he first arrived.
Wellbeck by contrast has lost the confidence in front of goal he always had as a kid and his lame header over the bar from an excellent cross from Buttner was sadly predictable. Hopefully he gets a tap in to reset his belief but at the moment he looks like he needs 10 chances to get one.
Think your comments re Jonny Evans were way off the mark. Once or twice in the second half he ran out of passing options having come forward well with the ball but that was due to our lack of movement in front of him. Generally he is easily our most composed CB in posssssion. Happy to go past a man and displays a range of passing which Rio can only dream about. He was a midfield player when he first came to United and I could see him playing the role Ronny Jonnson and even John O’shea played well from time to time in front of the back four in tough away games if Fergie reverts to the CB pairing of Vida and Rio. That would enable Carrick and Cleverley to push forward more without the back four being so frequently exposed when we lose the ball in midfield.
Probably wont happen but if it does u heard it here first.
Big picture. Defence will be fine once Vida is match fit and we stop chopping and changing.. Attack is fine as long as RVP renains fit. Central Midfield remains the big problem. Only Carrick and Cleverley pass muster for a full 90 minutes and they can’t play every game. Question marks re fitness, health, mobility or suitability re all the others and currently Ashley Young is the only winger carrying any threat. Lets hope Nani’s imminent return sees him back at his best.
I disagree with a number of your scores. For a start Buttner never got to grips with the right sided players and he never stopped one cross. Rafael looked lost and he should be less dramatic. Kagawa was playing on his own without any help. As for Scholes he did put a couple of excellent balls through but the rest were intercepted and he should have been sent off before he ever delivered them balls except for the ref who allowed play to carry on therefore Scholes got away. With it. Insteaded could have been playing three quarters of the match with 10 men. Scholes is a liability.