Niall McDonald is back on duty as ClaretandHugh’s ratings expert tonight – here’s how he saw the lads’ performances.
Randolph: His part in the incredible post/save incident was celebrated like a goal. Several other fine stops kept us in it 7
Nordtveidt: I certainly wouldn’t fancy seeing Rashford jogging on after I’d put in that sort of shift for an hour. Did well tonight 7
Reid: Led an extremely disciplined defensive effort. Scoreline doesn’t do it justice in my view 8
Ogbonna: Had to give it 100% concentration against Zlatan and played well. I give 1 less than Reid for his distribution 7
Cresswell: Finally overlapped and pinged over his first inch-perfect cross on 79 mins 6
Obiang: Excellent against top class opposition. Harried, broke up play and moved it on at pace 8
Lanzini: Went close with our 2 efforts in goal before the interval. Didn’t stop running 7
Payet: Heroic rearguard actions aren’t really Dimi’s forte. Docking him a mark for set piece inaccuracy when we needed them 5
Kouyate: Noble fans cover your ears… Could Kouyate and Obiang be the future in the centre of midfield? 8
Feghouli: I was a long way from it but it looked, at worst, a 50:50. Before his disgraceful red card he looked sharper and more direct than I’ve seen him 7
Antonio: He knew he’d blown ‘the chance’, and so did everyone else. Ran on fumes for the last 15 mins 6
Subs:
Carroll: That AC entered the fray with the game still in the balance is testament to the efforts of his teammates. Didn’t get a real chance on goal or, sadly, to clatter Jones 4
Fernandes: Brought much-needed fresh legs near the end 4
Ayew: Could have come on for Antonio 15 mins earlier for me No Rating
A very spirited performance and one I think every fan is proud of. I agree in the main with the ratings above. Obiang was my man of the match. I would give Antonio at least a 7 as he worked so hard. I am amazed at Nordsvelt score of 7, this guy offers absolutely nothing. From an offensive perspective he does not go on runs and from a defensive perspective he cannot defend. A generous 4 for me.
Not Norveits biggest fan but prepared to give him a chance and i thought,for the most part, he did well and looked pretty solid in defence.
Excellent from Niall. Good point about the Obiang and kouyate midfield pairing- we have missed the laters energy and presence in midfield. Thought Feghouli looked better tonight. as well as nordvelt played we didn’t respond to mourinhos rashford intro- again the need for a proper right back and a decent striker was clear- Two good chances missed and at least a point has gone begging.
Agree with Niall’s ratings except Antonio who would give 7 for, Feghouli was doing what we have been missing basically getting stuck in, I couldn’t believe it when he was sent off, although it all happened very quickly Slav is right and Jones was the more dangerous tackle then to scream and roll about like that and suddenly be fine as Feghouli is walking off the pitch is absolutely disgraceful why these players aren’t given fines and retrospective 3 match bans is beyond me.