Check out our player reviews following the 2-0 win against Swansea at Old Trafford...
David De Gea: Dealt with everything that was thrown at him, even if a couple of stops from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Danny Graham appeared to require a little fortune going his way. Showed his agility to keep out a Sigurdsson free-kick and will be pleased with another clean sheet.
Phil Jones: Tackled sharply, with one on Neil Taylor right out of the top drawer, and also mustered a couple of efforts, firing down Vorm's throat and forcing the keeper to save a towering header. Drifted a couple of crosses behind the goal but was always willing to roar forward and did well in the build-up to one of Javier Hernandez's chances.
Chris Smalling: Reads the game so well and was largely in control at the back. Harshly penalised for a foul on Sigurdsson as the timing of his challenges were pretty spot-on and he made one block to deny Graham at the start of the second half. Touched a header wide from a corner and was thwarted by a Vorm punch after joining the attack.
Rio Ferdinand: Supreme at the start of both halves and that set the tone in terms of a defensive performance. Intercepted forays forward with his customary guile but worryingly left the field in some discomfort with an injury that must cast doubt over his participation at Sunderland.
Patrice Evra: Aggressive and combative, he played at the tempo required from the outset. Got back swiftly to stop Nathan Dyer in his tracks and hammered in a volley that was spooned away by Vorm. Another drive forward led to panic in the Swans' box and one of his crosses created an opportunity for Valencia.
Antonio Valencia: Wasn't really involved until he sped past Taylor to create the opening goal and he was then in the mood, posing a real threat down the right. Had a couple of shots blocked, one crucially by Taylor when a third goal seemed on, and one fair barge on the full-back provided further evidence of his power. Showed a rare flash of temper when conceding a foul late on.
Michael Carrick: Some of his passing was outstanding, none more so than the first-time ball to Wayne Rooney that should have led to a goal. Also teed up Paul Scholes' opener with a measured left-foot shot and found himself in the thick of things throughout. Another of his attempts deflected into Vorm's arms.
Paul Scholes: By his high standards, he was a little sloppy early on but displayed ageless quality when backheeling past Vorm to break the deadlock. His game returned to its normal levels and he headed on for a Hernandez opening and tackled back tenaciously to dispossess Dyer. Also involved in the build-up to the second goal when he picked up a stray pass and fed Rooney and there was one trademark switch of play in the second half to pick out Jones. A moment of magic saw him clear a shot on his own goal with a brilliant pass out of defence to Valencia.
Ashley Young: Heavily involved and carried the game to the Welshmen by planting numerous crosses into the box. One of the centres led to a chance for Hernandez and he found the net himself with a perfectly-placed right-foot finish when the ball rebounded into his path. A tackle on Scott Sinclair illustrated his desire and some fine skill down the left to beat Dyer and Angel Rangel proved his dribbling ability.
Wayne Rooney: Denied a goal by Vorm and defensive blocks while also guided a couple of angled finishes off target, one he will feel should have ended up in the back of the net after Carrick's pass released him. His shot set up Young's strike but consecutive over-hit crosses showed he hadn't quite found his range and the frustrated forward picked up his first domestic booking of the season before being substituted.
Javier Hernandez: A heavy touch led to an early Rooney pass going out of his reach and it proved to be one of those days for the Mexican predator who was inches away from converting a Carrick centre when trying to replicate Scholes' flicked finish. A penalty claim after he was manhandled by Vorm at a corner was turned down by Chris Foy and he headed over two close-range opportunities. When he did get a shot on target, it was deflected away by Ashley Williams.
Substitutes:
Tom Cleverley (for Scholes, 68m): Stretched to force a save out of Vorm after sprinting into the area and he made one stylish interception to stop the ball reaching Luke Moore.
Dimitar Berbatov (for Rooney, 79m): Headed on to supply Hernandez with a chance but was unable to have any real influence on the proceedings.
Rafael (for Ferdinand, 88m): Only on the pitch for a couple of minutes but it was enough time to make one of his customary tigerish tackles.
No comments:
Post a Comment