Lakshay Khurana
The dreams of Champions League shattered for Red Devils as they failed to win against West Ham United away from home. A very ideal game for the Hammers but certainly, not for Louis Van Gaal.
Two goals from the French young star, Anthony Martial wasn’t enough to keep United ahead in the match. The team struggled to keep West Ham players off their box and did terribly against their set-pieces. Looks like we know how much Van Gaal made them practice set-pieces in the training ground.
Anyhow, let’s look at the player ratings from Tuesday’s Premier League clash at Upton Park.
De Gea: 7
The no. 1 made really great saves, especially the 1v1 against Andy Carroll. He could’ve managed to save Winston Reid header. All-in-all a great game by De Gea as usual.
Antonio Valencia: 5
A poor game by Valencia as he couldn’t manage to mark either Lanzini or Antonio. Was also invisible for half of the game.
Chris Smalling: 6
Smalling dealt well with tough situations, but struggled to keep Andy Carroll from fancying chances at goal.
Dailey Blind: 5
The Dutch defender was the noticeable defender to be blamed for most of United’s fault at the back. He did at times made well-timed tackles, but failed to be the defender he has been for most of the season.
Marcos Rojo: 4
It boggles my mind how Rojo manages to start almost every game, given his consistent poor performance. He didn’t disappoint us in those terms though.
Morgan Schneiderlin: 4
Probably the worst game for Schneiderlin in United’s jersey. The Frenchman was very sloppy against the Hammers, also deserves to be blamed for West Ham’s first goal.
Ander Herrera: 5
The Spanish playmaker managed to make a few decent passes which helped in United’s attacks, but found it hard to get into the game with lack of composure.
Wayne Rooney: 6
The passes delivered by the skipper were top-notch, but the deeper role in the midfield is definitely isn’t his thing. Rooney gave away ball possession too easily on some occasions.
Juan Mata: 7
A decent display by Mata again. Provided an assist in United’s first goal. His position under Van Gaal doesn’t suit him very well. He can do much better.
Anthony Martial: 8
Without a doubt, the best player for United in Tuesday’s game. His contribution was much more than expected. Shame how the team didn’t do well to avoid conceding goals.
Marcus Rashford: 5
Rashford struggled to blend in with the tempo of the game, but did however managed to have an affect whenever he touched the ball.
Substitutes:
Michael Carrick: 6 (for Schneiderlin, 46’)
Average performance by the English midfielder but much better than Schneiderlin anyway.
Jesse Lingard: Came on too late
Adnan Januzaj: Came on too late.
