Man United– Player Ratings
A game that United dominated but allowed Fulham to regain control through sloppy defending. There were promising signs from the attack, specifically from the new boys, but there were very very worrying ones from the defence.
De Gea – 5.5
Made a few excellent saves as he often does, but cannot be excused for his part in Fulham’s second goal. He has shown he is still incapable of defending crosses, and that’s quite an important part of being a goalkeeper…
Rafael – 4.5
He scored a goal and (bizarrely) was probably our greatest threat going forwards, also having a finish (correctly) called offside and a dipping long shot well saved. However, defensively, he was shocking, conceding free kicks galore, getting skinned for pace and making dangerous risky tackles. He was partly at fault just before Fulham’s first goal.
Carrick – 5
Does not look comfortable at CB, and although he made a couple of great blocks and clearing headers, he was caught out numerous times and gave away the free kick that lead to the first goal. Some good long passes out of defence were to be expected though.
Vidic – 4.5
Vidic continued his poor return to the first team with a very disconcerting performance, in which he looked shaky on the ball and off it. Scored an own goal with his back heel, and could not find a team mate whenever he attempted to clear the ball.
Evra – 5.5
Assisted Van Persie’s goal very well, but contributed little else going forward, while at the back he was our strongest player, but still allowed himself to get caught a few times.
Valencia – 7.5
Another excellent performance from our most consistent player over the last few years. Antonio showed he can at last cross with his left foot, and he went close with a belter of a shot after cutting in from the left. Provided cross after cross during the match.
Cleverley – 6
Heavily involved but not really influential in creating chances and he was very sloppy with possession at times. Beaten off the ball by Dembele a lot. Took the powerful shot that lead to Kagawa’s goal.
Anderson – 6
A strong first half was overshadowed by a sloppy second one in which he conceded possession cheaply a couple of times, notably leading up to Fulham’s second goal. In the first half he was asserted in possession and able to use his strength to win the ball back numerous times.
Kagawa – 7
Yet another good performance from our new CM, although perhaps his sloppiest to date. He managed a goal (tap in) on his début after a good Cleverley shot. So comfortable in possession.
Young – 4.5
Ashley Young had another really poor game. Despite an excellent ball to assist Rafael’s headed goal, I cannot give much praise to Young, who was constantly conceding possession and wasting good chances and missing hit shots and crosses. I’ve never been his biggest fan but it is so frustrating that we keep playing him when he’s in the worst form of his life.
Van Persie – 6.5
Scored a beauty of a volley to even the game up, but was relatively uninvolved afterwards, although what he did he did fairly well.
Subs:
Rooney – 5.5
It’s hard to recall his contribution to the match, aside from a few misplaced passes and a powerful (slightly overhit) shot late on in the game. Picked up an injury late on after suffering a boot from a clumsy Fulham player, Wayne Rooney suffered a deep gash, required stretchering off the pitch , and he is now out for 4 weeks. Good thing Manchester brought Van Persie into the team then, isn’t it?
Welbeck – 6.5
Danny did little in the game as well, but he used his pace, tackling and determination to win back possession well on a couple of occasions, and he set up Giggs well very late on, only for the Welshman to balloon over.
Giggs – 6
It’s so frustrating watching Giggs, who at times pulls off flashes of brilliance, such as his excellent defensive work to break up Fulham attacks during his 10 minutes of play, but then he goes and completely messes up, wasting chances so carelessly. Today he kicked a simple pass out for a throw in, he got to the by-line and proceeded to cross to the opposite corner of the area, and he fired his last minute shot so high that it nearly left the ground.
United’s man of the match – Valencia
United’s flop of the match – Young
Fulham’s man of the match – Dembélé
Overall it was an interesting game, and it was nice to see us creating chances again, but it was very worrying that we were so careless at the back. Here’s hoping we sort out these early season jitters in time for Southampton on Sunday the 2nd of September. Fulham weren’t particularly good, although Dembélé was a constant threat, United were mainly just weak at the back (again).
Filed under: Game Reviews, Player Ratings
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