De Gea – That’s two clean sheets in a row for David now but, to be honest, he could have pulled out a picnic basket mid-game and still not have conceded today. Had nothing to do whatsoever all game. 5
Rafael – It’s like playing with two wingers when Rafael is on the pitch thanks to the distance he covers. At times it seemed like we were playing without a right back. A nightmare for the Wigan defence to deal with. 7
Ferdinand – Didn’t have much to do throughout but still alert to any dangers that came his way. Made a fantastic clearance header to keep the game level in the first half. 6
Evans – Not much to deal with so I expected him to push up and support the midfield as he normally does. It didn’t happen unfortunately. Looked a bit shaky once Rio came off. 6
Evra – I’d love to see Evra given a chance to play out wide on the left. He seems like a completely different player nowadays when attacking, and he played a crucial role in us taking the lead too. 7
Giggs – Professional performance from the veteran who is showing that he’s still got much to offer this United side from the left. Crossed in some wonderful passes too. 7
Carrick – Dictated the game single-handedly at times with minimal fuss and effort. Eventually taken off for a much deserved rest. 8
Cleverley – Never did it for me today unfortunately. Lost the ball a bit too frequently in the first half for my liking and lacked the creative edge when passing forward later on. 5
Young – A constant threat throughout, Ashley swung in a couple of fantastic crosses that no one seemingly able to connect to. Could it be that he’s a better player on the right rather than his usual position on the left? Possibly. 8 (MOTM)
Van Persie – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, RvP really is out of this world. My favourite thing about him is that he does all the basics well at all times. For example his first goal today, honestly, what he did isn’t difficult in terms of technique but instead the difficult thing about it is having the composure and self-belief to pull it off with such finesse and ease. Incredible footballer. 8
Hernandez – Put the ball in the net four times but was called off for offside twice. Clinical performance with Chicharito pouncing on any opportunity that came his way. 8
Subs:
Smalling – Lucky not to have been sent off after misreading a simple ball over the top. 4
Kagawa – More minutes under his belt will help him get back into his peak. Should have done better to control the midfield though. 5
Welbeck – Came on and within minutes he’d got himself another assist. 7
Really amazing game. They’d missed this kind of big win for quite a while especially on away game. Totally agreed with the rating and comments stated. Some more additional comments for the subsituted players:
Smalling – Still needs time to make himself solid and good judgement. Better for him to play with experience defenders like Rio or Vidic. 4
Kagawa – He still can’t match with the team. Probably Man United is not playing the style to fit for him. He also needs to make himself stronger in physical, otherwise he is hard to play in EPL. 4
Wellback – He needs to play more to keep on his improvement. 5
Wrong for YOUNG, he doesn’t deserve that for me may be 5 is more than enough since he,like the past, continuously waste balls at last may not part in United. De Gea & Ferdinand haven’t do mistakes & need to be rated more 7&8 respectively.
Carrick is MOM for me and Rafael makes huge different in our attack whenever he play. Agree with u – like playing with too wingers when the Brazilian is around.
basically agree here. a little unsure about the evra comment, wanting him to play left wing. this is said about to many good fullbacks but it never seems to work. fullbacks are as effective as they are because they come from deeper positions and make runs that wide midfileders rarely track due to their inept defensive skills. The skill that many wingers have, that fullbacks simply do not, is an ability to pass players from a standing start.
i simply dont feel evra could ever make it as a winger at united except in certain situations and matches, which i WOULD like to see. if we play barcelona again or against another team with dangerous attacking wide men.