Newcastle vs Manchester United player ratings

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became just the second Manchester United manager to win his first four games in charge as his side defeated Newcastle on Wednesday night.

It didn’t all go the visitors’ way, with Solskjaer’s opposite number Rafa Benitez setting his side up in a very defensive 5-4-1 and the teams going in level at the break.

But a tactical tweak by Solskjaer early in the second-half, sending on Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, proved the difference. Marcus Rashford was at the centre of it all once again for the visitors, teeing up Lukaku for the first with a wicked free-kick before doubling the lead with a calm finish from Sanchez’s through ball. Here’s how the teams rated:

Here’s how the teams rated:
Martin Dubravka: Brave stop to deny Rashford and good anticipation to stop Mata in first-half. Horrible mistake for Man Utd’s opener 4/10

DeAndre Yedlin: Marshalled Martial well looked a threat when going forward but didn’t do that enough until after conceding 5/10

Fabian Schar: Steady at the back, made a number of good tackles to stop Martial and Rashford when flying through towards goal 6/10

Jamaal Lascelles: Fortunate not to give away early penalty for shoulder barge on Rashford. Booked for a huge lunge on Herrera. Wrong side of Lukaku for opener 5/10

Paul Dummett: Saved by Dubravka after failing to track Mata’s run at the back post. Relatively quiet otherwise 5/10

Matt Ritchie: Performed well in deep left wing back position despite it not playing to his strengths 6/10

Ayoze Perez: Quiet game. Slow to pounce on superb Shelvey through ball in second. Replaced by Kenedy 4/10

Isaac Hayden: Busy presence in midfield to keep the likes of Pogba and Matic quiet. Unfortunate to be on losing side 7/10

Mohamed Diame: Poor touch early on to waste a rare bit of possession for the hosts. Injured himself when tackling Pogba and subbed for Shelvey early in second-half 5/10

Christian Atsu: Three decent early chances but should have tested De Gea more, dragged one horribly wide. Newcastle’s most threatening player but really should have scored 5/10

Salomon Rondon: Should have capitalised on a Jones mistake in first-half but was too cumbersome. Did well considering how isolated he was 6/10

Subs

Jonjo Shelvey: Added greater creativity in middle of the park after replacing Diame. Superb pass to put Perez through.Nasty tackle on Pogba 7/10

Kenedy: 5/10

Yoshinori Muto: 5/10

 

Manchester United

 David De Gea: Quiet game considering how many chances Newcastle created but benefited from some sloppy finishing 6/10

Antonio Valencia: Looked very rusty and short of pace. Newcastle had plenty of joy down his flank in the first-half. Less of a problem in the second-half but made little impact going forward 4/10

Victor Lindelof: Calm presence alongside the rusty Jones and Valencia. Showed good anticipation to halt Newcastle attacks and confident when playing ball out from the back 7/10

Phil Jones: Fantastic saving tackle on Rondon to make up for dawdling on the ball. Sloppily giftied Atsu another chance at goal. Needs to show improvement to keep Bailly out of team 4/10

Luke Shaw: Anonymous for most of game. Outpaced by Yedlin and booked for sloppy foul 4/10

Ander Herrera: On the wrong end of a heavy tackle from Lascelles. Outshone by Hayden in midfield 5/10

Nemanja Matic: Positive again, but not particularly dominant in the face of a busy Newcastle midfield. Misplaced early pass. More assured as game wore on 5/10

Juan Mata: Unusually sloppy pass when Martial. Offered little threat in the limited pockets of space offered up by well-organised Newcastle defence. Replaced by Sanchez 6/10

Paul Pogba: Denied space between the lines by Newcastle’s low block. Very quiet game compared to excellence of last three. Should have scored late on 5/10

Anthony Martial: Delightful piece of skill to win an early free-kick. Kept quiet by Yedlin and replaced by Lukaku 4/10

Marcus Rashford: Swerving, dipping free-kick too much for Dubravka to set up opener. Showed flashes of brilliance again a good composure for second. Replaced late on by Lingard 8/10 Subs

Romelu Lukaku: Instant impact, scoring within seconds of replacing Martial 6/10

Alexis Sanchez: Calm pass on edge of box to tee up Rashford for the second 6/10

Jesse Lingard: 5/10

 

 

 

 

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