Villa stunned United to go third in the table and Goal.com was on hand to rate the performance of the players at Old Trafford.....
MANCHESTER UNITED
Tomasz Kuszczak - 7 - His legs kept United in the match after he bailed out Fletcher for losing the ball to Agbonlahor on the edge of the box. Let down by Brown for the winner and dealt with everything else that came his way efficiently.
Darren Fletcher - 6 - One shaky moment aside, stuck well to his full-back task. Energy was missed in midfield, however.
Wes Brown - 5 - Fell asleep to allow Agbonlahor the space to nod home his goal.
Nemanja Vidic - 6 - Comeback was well timed as he made a series of blocks, headers and tackles to deny the vibrant visitors.
Patrice Evra - 8 - Simply United's best attacker and finest defender. Embarrassed Park with his flair going forward and stuck manfully to his task of denying Villa space to cross.
Michael Carrick - 7 - Kept the hosts ticking over in the middle. Sprayed passes across the pitch and also clattered in to tackles a number of times.
Anderson - 6 - Covered the blades of grass to good effect and was positive in possession. Taken off for Gibson.
Antonio Valencia - 6 - Quiet night for the Ecuadorian. Decent when he got involved, but didn't go searching for the ball enough.
Ji-Sung Park - 4 - Lost the ball every time it came his way and his very presence on the pitch robbed United of the threat up top that was needed. Made way for Berbatov.
Ryan Giggs - 6 - Looked to hold the key to the Villa defence. Probed and prodded without too much effect, however. Came off for Owen.
Wayne Rooney - 5 - A shameful dive was rightly carded and his final ball was disappointing. Rattled the bar with a shot in the first half.
Substitutes
Michael Owen - 5 - United's midweek match-winner didn't find the space to strike this time.
Dimitar Berbatov - 5 - Couldn't provide the remedy to United ills. Hammered a volley in to the ground rather than the back of the net.
Darron Gibson - 6 - Looked to test Friedel with a number of long distance pot shots.
ASTON VILLA
Brad Friedel - 7 - Enjoyed a quieter night than he would have expected. The few shots that came his way were handled with no fuss.
Luke Young - 6 - Dominated Park, but came unstuck when Evra bombed on from full-back.
Richard Dunne - 8 - Does exactly what he says on the tin. Solid, obstinate defending is his forte, and there was no sign of those standards slipping.
Carlos Cuellar - 7 - Provided the energy next to Dunne. His rangy physique was stretched to the limit a number of times to deny United.
Stephen Warnock - 7 - A stiff neck didn't stop him getting the better of Valencia. Linked up with alternating wingers Ashley Young and Stewart Downing to good effect. Collision saw him withdrawn for Collins.
Ashley Young - 7 - Stuck to his manager's orders and pumped the ball in to the United area with consistent quality. Picked out Agbonlahor to set up the opener.
James Milner - 8 - Is excelling in the close environs of centre midfield. Used his reservoirs of energy to win the ball and his winger's technique to pass the ball out wide with speed.
Stiliyan Petrov - 5 - His every involvement seem to end with Martin Atkinson blowing his whistle for a free kick. Broke up play, but tested the letter of the law.
Stewart Downing - 7 - Last involvement was to clear Vidic's header off the goal line. Put in a cultured performances before coming off for Reo-Coker.
Gabriel Agbonlahor - 8 - Drifted intelligently in to space to nod home the winner and was a constant thorn in the side of the United back line. His pace unsettles even the best of defenders and his record against the 'Big Four' is impeccable.
Emile Heskey - 5 - Ambled around the penalty box to little effect. Looked more oafish than international class. Taken off for Carew after hamstring pull.
Substitutes
John Carew - n/a
Nigel Reo-Coker - n/a
James Collins - 7 - Dug in manfully as Villa fought to keep back the Red tide.
Matt Monaghan, Goal.com UK
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment