Lakshay Khurana
The most anticipated game of Europa League round of 16 left United fans disappointed again. The Red Devils failed to fight back in the second leg at home in order to proceed in the tournament.
Louis van Gaal’s side saw their old rivals thrashing them at Anfield by 2-0 and drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford. Manchester United needed at least, a 2-0 win over Liverpool in the second leg to have their chances of progressing further for the quarter-finals but failed to even grab a victory as Coutinho’s chip over David De Gea assured United to strike at least, 3 more goals which weren’t practically expected from the way van Gaal’s men performed on Thursday night.
Another huge blow to Manchester United as they now look forward to step up their game to fight for the fourth position in the English Premier League and winning the FA Cup.
PLAYER RATINGS:
DAVID DE GEA: 8
Brilliant throughout the game. Amazing reflexes and confidence. If it wasn’t for him, United would’ve easily conceded a couple of more goals.
VARELA: 6
The Uruguayan did a decent job marking Coutinho but found it hard to keep with Liverpool’s counter attacks.
CHRIS SMALLING: 7
A very powerful performance by the English defender as usual. Kept Liverpool’s player off the box as much as he could.
DAILEY BLIND: 5
Unlike his recent performances, Blind found it difficult to keep his composure and lacked awareness in the game.
ROJO: 5
The Argentine missed a very important chance with a stereotypical defender’s finish off of Fellaini’s effort and was very inconsistent at defence.
MAROUANE FELLAINI: 5
Fellaini lacked creativity and composure for most of the match. Worked hard but it all went down the drain. The Belgian was not able to make any important passes or tackles.
MICHAEL CARRICK: 6
Was firm and steady in the centre-mid. The English playmaker also made few key passes which led to United’s attacks.
JESSE LINGARD: 5
Missed an early chance to score from a header 1v1. The youngster couldn’t get involved in the game enough. A poor game comparatively.
Juan Mata: 6
The Spaniard was all over the attack, reaching in the open places and controlling the tempo of the attack. Could’ve done better with the volley in the first half.
Marcus Rashford: 5
The youngster found it difficult to get past Sakho and look tired during the game. Should be definitely rested for upcoming games.
Anthony Martial: 7
Manchester United’s only threatening player in the front, playing fast and cutting inside the box as usual. Scored the only goal.
SUBSTITUTES:
VALENCIA- 5 (replaced Varela, 46”)
DARMIAN– 6 (replaced Rojo, 62”)
SCHWEINSTEIGER- 5 (replaced Carrick, 70”).
