Manchester United vs. Sheffield United Player Ratings
 |
| Image from Down The Wings |
It was a good day for Manchester United as they won 3-0 against Sheffield United courtesy of the Anthony Martial's first hat-trick in United colours. But it wasn't just the Martial who was on fire, whole team put an excellent performance to narrow the gap for Champions League spot, and here I'm going to rate each individual's performance -
David De Gea: 6.5/10
It was a pleasant evening for the Spanish as he was barely troubled by the attacking unit of Blades. Made no mistakes, was good at positioning, and distributed the ball efficiently to set up a United attack. A clean sheet today should boost his confidence and help him in regaining the form we've all been waiting for.
Aaron Wan Bissaka: 8/10
The Spider was in a great form today, and even assisted Martial's second goal through a gorgeous low driven cross after beating Blades' left-back through a clean dribble. Also cleared out a dangerous cross fantastically and kept his flank barricaded throughout the game. This game displayed a huge improvement in attacking side of his game, and if the improvement continues, it's not long before he establishes himself as best right-back in the league.
Harry Maguire: 6.5/10
A comfortable night for the skipper today. Didn't have to make many blocks or tackles, but whatever he did, it was clean and did not cause troubles at back. It seems like Matic screening with Maguire at back is a good solution for United because even if Matic fails to catch the attacking unit, his positional awareness and playing style gives Maguire enough time to get into the right position.
Victor Lindelof: 7/10
Just like Maguire, Lindelof didn't have much on his plate either. Made some good blocks and cleared out ball on important moments, breaking the momentum of Blades from time to time. Along with this he also made some good forward passes, and handled everything comfortably, getting him some extra marks as compared to Maguire today. Overall, the Centre Back duo had a fairly comfortable evening.
Luke Shaw: 5.5/10
He is surely getting the worst rating today. Misplaced passes, low awareness, bad crosses, and even a yellow card. Shaw failed at everything miserably and it certainly wasn't an evening to remember for him. I won't be surprised if Ole starts Williams if Shaw puts in same performance for one more game.
Nemanja Matic: 7.5/10
I had certain doubts regarding Matic's recovery as he has aged and we all have witnessed drop in his sprint speed. But I have to admit that my doubts were wrong, and Ole made a perfect decision by starting him. Screened the defense really well and didn't let Blades players run through him easily. Along with this he also made recoveries and maintained a great passing accuracy. A rock solid show by the Serbian!
Paul Pogba: 8.5/10
I don't even know where to get started with his performance. If not for assists, I would have rated Rashford below him. I have no complaints at all. He made whole Sheffield squad's life dreadful with his line breaking passes, long balls, ball control and dribbling. This display was a reminder of his best 2016/17 display - a performance that might not get goals or assists, but literally the whole buildup and cover behind them. Created 4 chances and contributed to goals as well. World Class.
Bruno Fernandes: 7.5/10
The Portugese midfielder was efficient throughout the game and created a goal scoring chance too. He also played a major role in Martial's goal through that flick that contributed to Tiki Taka style momentum. Started the game with bad passing accuracy but made ball recoveries and put good through balls throughout the game.
Mason Greenwood: 7/10
I have always admired Greenwood since his first performance for United, and while he is still developing, he displayed great maturity in the game today. He might not have contributed via a goal or assist, but he controlled the ball well, made good movements, committed less mistakes, and had great awareness as long as he was available on the pitch. Huge potential.
Marcus Rashford: 9/10
English winger had an excellent start to the game. Thumped in a cross for Martial's first goal to get the necessary momentum. This moment was followed by a long period of inefficiency where he even missed 2 clear goal scoring chances, but he came back stronger in second half, maintained his calm, and made the pass for goal that completed Martial's hat-trick. Game began with Rashford and finished with Rashford. Excellent night that could have been even more outstanding, but no major complaints.
Anthony Martial: 10/10
First hat-trick for the French striker. He had a terrific evening, and was everywhere in the game. He ticked all the boxes - Clinical finishing, Composure, Ball Control, Off the ball running, you name it, and Martial had it in his arsenal today. Elite performance.
Other players that came on to pitch as a substitute:
Odin Ighalo -> Anthony Martial
Odin Ighalo -> Anthony Martial
Daniel James -> Marcus Rashford
Juan Mata -> Mason Greenwood
Andreas Periera -> Paul Pogba
Scott McTominay -> Bruno Fernandes
But all changes were made around the same time (near 78th minute), which was quite late into the game, and therefore, they aren't eligible for rating. With all the remaining fixtures in hand, we have high hopes that it's going to be an excellent finish to the season.
So, that was it for this article, hope you enjoyed the game and are geared up for the next match against Brighton. Let's see what Seagulls have for us.
Comments
Post a comment