Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool: Player Ratings
- Kaustubh Pandey(@Kaus_Pandey17)
In what was expected to be a game that pitted against asceticism of Jurgen Klopp against pragmatism of Jose Mourinho, Marcus Rashford scored a brace within the first half an hour to hand United a 2-0 advantage. In around the 38th minute, Juan Mata missed an opportunity from an overhead kick to make 3-0. In the second half, an Eric Bailly own goal gave a lifeline to Liverpool, but the Red Devils stood firm and picked up all three points in an intense game.
Here is how players from both sides rated in the game at Old Trafford:
De Gea: 7- Had little to do. But made the easy saves easily.
Antonio Valencia: 7.5- The skipper looked his usual self. Did well to keep Andy Robertson and Sadio Mane at bay.
Chris Smalling: 8.5- One of the best performances of the season for him.
Eric Bailly: 8.0- Impressive performance. Deduct half for the own goal.
Ashley Young: 9.0- Had Mo Salah in his back-pocket. Player of the game.
Scott McTominay: 8.0- Showed immense maturity beyond his years. Another Solid game.
Nemanja Matic: 8.5- His physical strength held the key to hold Liverpool off.
Marcus Rashford: 8.5- Scored both the goals. Could've done more otherwise.
Juan Mata: 8.0- Did struggle to get on the ball sometimes, but dropped deep well to keep Liverpool back.
Alexis Sanchez: 8.0- Looked bettter when playing on the left. Doing too much when playing centrally.
Romelu Lukaku: 8.5- Had big contributions in both the goals. Held the ball up very well.
Substitutes
Marouane Fellaini- 7.0: Did well to cover the backline.
Jesse Lingard- 7.0: Used his energy late in the game to drop in and defend.
Matteo Darmian- NA
Liverpool
Loris Karius: 6.0- Looked sound. Unlucky to concede the two goals. Could've saved the second one.
Trent Alexander Arnold: 6.0- The youngster was unlucky to come up against a determined Marcus Rashford and an Ashley Young, who was in the best of his forms.
Virgil van Dijk: 6.5- Was decent in possession but couldn't handle both of United's long-balls that led to the goal.
Dejan Lovren: 5.5: Was bullied by Lukaku for the second. Caught napping.
Andy Robertson: 7.0: Was a willing runner throughout. Always positive.
Emre Can:6.0- Had to operate deep because of United being physically very sound. Struggled to impose himself.
James Milner: 6.0: Looked tired and aged against a physical United midfield.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6.5: Could've done more. Lacked the incisive passing in the final third.
Sadio Mane: 7.0: Was probably Liverpool's best player. Created the only goal. Own goal, rather.
Roberto Firmino: 7.0- Did the off the ball work very well. Like his own self.
Mohamed Salah: 5.5- A rare, disappointing evening for the Egyptian. Ashley Young kept him at bay.
Substitutes
Adam Lallana: 6.5 Made Liverpool look cohesive, after coming on.
Dominic Solanke: NA
Georginio Wijnaldum: NA