NUFC player ratings vs Man Utd – One 8, a 7, three 6’s, a few 5’s and five 4’s

A promising display at times, but ultimately another defeat as Man Utd play badly and win via a host of avoidable goals.

Here’s an assessment of each player’s performance along with marks out of 10:

Starting 11

Darlow – 4 – Was caught out at the front post for the first goal, got a hand on it but not enough. Harsh to blame him for the second goal but may of not made himself big enough. Not sure what he tried for the penalty by diving forward?! Fans calling to see Dubravka back between the sticks may of felt he could’ve done better.

Krafth – 4 – Another difficult night for Krafth as he struggled to deal with Rashford more times than once. Putting it through his legs then cutting in too easy – causing the first goal of the night. Tried to get forward a few times in the first half with good link up play from Joelinton however his final ball seemed to let us down again. Poor performance from the only fit right-back at the club.

Lascelles – 5 – Needed to bring the ball down more instead of heading it back to Man Utd – putting us under pressure. Could’ve easily won a penalty after Maguire pushed him the box, obviously VAR didn’t even look at it. An OK performance from the skipper. Didn’t do a great deal wrong but did sometimes get caught by their quick passing, giving away the odd cheap free kick.

Clark – 6 – Put in a steady performance and was the better performer out of the two centre half’s – putting his body in front of the ball and making some good tackles. Always stayed tight to his man and didn’t let them turn – something you would always expect from the experienced Irishman.

Lewis – 4.5 – Drawn to the ball too easily and left James, which gave him the space to finish. Could’ve released ASM a few times in the first half but didn’t produce – leaving ASM frustrated. Maybe Dummett will come into the side in the next few weeks – especially against tricky wingers for Wolves next weekend.

Willock – 5.5* – Struggled to impose himself on the game likes he’s capable of doing but never stopped running – joining in with attacks and also getting back to get his body behind the ball. Made a few good tackles, but conceded a penalty (although replay’s show he hardly touched Rashford!) which finished the game off for the Mags.

Hayden – 6 – Didn’t do anything spectacular but broke up the play in the midfield. Got his foot in, disrupted Man Utd’s attempts to play through the middle and kept it simple. An unspectacular but solid display.

Shelvey – 4 – Another bang average Shelvey performance as I can’t remember him producing a lot apart from the usual stroll around the midfield. The lack of urgency and pace from him is frightening, and to fans may come across as laziness. He’s got ability, but his laboured style can slow down attacks and hardly makes him suited to our newfound attempts to press.

Almiron  8* – Our brightest spark of the night playing in the most attacking point of the diamond formation. Carried the ball into the final third on countless occasions, with his pace and energy causing Maguire and Lindelof all sorts of problems, but a lack of help in attacking areas resulted in Man Utd defenders sometimes boxing him in. Pressed high, drew fouls and caused them problems all night.

Saint-Maximin – 7 – Produced a terrific effort forcing a good save from De Gea – turning it around for a corner. It was that corner which the ball broke to him and stroked home a half volley into the top corner. Had another effort early in the second half which was held well – either side of De Gea and it’s a goal. Always tried to get forward and take players on but sometimes held onto the ball for too long.

Joelinton – 6.5 – Forced a save from De Gea early in first half after a deflected shot. He kept possession well and trying to nick the ball back after poor play from Man Utd defence / midfield. Showed some nice touches but needs to show better movement and bust a gut to support attacks. That said, he was subsequently replaced 10 minutes after the break with a knock he had picked up in the first half – the reason why he couldn’t keep up with Almiron on the break. Hopefully it’s not a bad one as we were much poorer after he was forced off, believe it or not!

SUBS:

Fraser – 4 – Didn’t offer much at all when coming on for the last 35 minutes. Struggled to give the support Joelinton was offering – but by the time he got into the game, we had conceded and heads were down.

Murphy – N/A – Smashed one shot way over the bar and had a good chance to get a ball into the box in extra time – we had options in the middle but totally over hit it.

Gayle– N/A – Only on for 10 minutes so did not make much of an impact. Tracked back a few times which showed the direction the game was going when he came on.

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One thought on “NUFC player ratings vs Man Utd – One 8, a 7, three 6’s, a few 5’s and five 4’s

  1. Will the penny ever drop with Bruce and his coaching staff,
    Krafth is a total liability at left back the marks for performance against Man Utd mirror my previous comments!

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