Hughie hands out his marks
Areola: No chance with a goal which should have seen the scorer marked more closely from a corner but fine all night beyond that 7
Johnson: Very good game from the young man with some excellent defending at times 7
Dawson: Solid self until one big error which nearly supplied a second goal 6
Zouma: The odd error here and there but generally competent performance 7
Cresswell: Really back to his best – defended well and always looking for opportunities to get forward 7+
Rice: Not as prominent as usual but may still be suffering a bit – some good interventions and had Sevilla in a moan up confrontation when quite rightly trying to lift up an uninjured player 7
Soucek: Had the attacking midfield role handed back to him and did ok with one shot particularly well saved but still looking to catch up to last season’s levels. 6
Fornals: Started well but there was some sloppy stuff thrown in as the game progressed 5+
Lanzini: Had an amazing chance to score from close in but for a magnificent block and was always looking to create chances 7
Vlasic: Unlucky with a big chance when keeper Bono happened to be in the right place at the right time and looked much better on the ball on the right side 6+
Antonio: His best game for a little while with one shot into the side netting from a powerful run – which was one of several 7
Subs
Benrahma: Some really exciting stuff when he first arrived and was responsible for Lanzini’s big blocked chance 7
Noble: On for Lanzini to help ensure we only went back home with a 1-0 defeat. Did ok 5
Masuaku: Very late arrival No rating
I thought Vlasic was again very poor and what Moyes saw in him is beyond anyone. Secondly Soucek is a passenger and needs to be taken out of the team with a midfield 3 of Rice, Lanzini and Fornals. I sincerely hope those contract talks are put on hold. Apart from that the players tried hard and we are still in with a shout but we wont win that game if we dont play the technical players. Finally I really hope that the rumpurs we are in for the Sevilla striker are false, he is absolutely dire and would be as bad a signing as Vlasic.
YOU thought Vlasic was poor… statistically he had twice as many shots on target as the rest of the team combined… according to the Pro-stats, Vlasic, Fornals, Lanzini Benrahma & Antonio were all within 0.2 of each other…… please get off his back 🙂
I’m with you about En-Nesryi, I thought Moyes had asked asked Dawson or Zouma to smuggle him back to Blighty, he was in their pocket so much!!
Agree with the ratings maybe an 8 for Johnson and Soucek a 7, we were tigerish but lacked a bit of composure with the final pass, Sevilla are a very high quality team and a draw would have been a fair result. Their goal was a worldie even if marking could have been better, the finish was about a 1 in 20 attempts what can you do against that except applaud it ? Hopefully we will get the run of the ball in the next leg and a win COYI!!!
Thanks Hugh. Pretty much as I saw it, except for Noble. Things were getting a bit ragged, Lanzini had faded after his excellent first half. Rice looking tired. Noble did exactly what he was supposed to. Calmed things down. Kept the ball moving within the team. Always finding a position off the ball to receive a pass. Ensured that the others kept their structure. I would rate him with 7, even for only 10+ minutes.
Dawson was poor and needs a break. He was the nearest to the goalscorer. Areola should of organised his defence to make sure the man at the back was marked. These are the fine margins. Cresswell defended really well but his attacking is limited due a lack of pace.
Fornals was much better than 6. Defended and attacked well.
Vlasic was not unlucky with his header, pretty awful. Game/match changer ?
Non existent 2nd half.
Lanzini should of scored as well. 2 great chances.
John ham 1 boleyn irons sums this up so well. I really wonder what moyes was thinking with vlasic and kral and no striker? OK panic buy maybe because no lingard ? Worst 33mill and loan deal ever. Both not even Premier class and maybe nice guys but totally been a waste of money . Benny off form but has it if he gets consistency and moyes toys to let him perform what his good at and not make him into a workhorse.