Europa League: Manchester United 1-1 Liverpool : Player Ratings
Liverpool sealed a place in the Europa League quarter-finals, as they effective saw out Manchester United at Old Trafford to clinch the tie 3-1 over two legs. Needing to overcome a 2-0 deficit from last week’s poor performance at Anfield, United fans thought a comeback was on when Anthony Martial converted a penalty he won after 30 minutes. However, a moment of individual brilliance from Philippe Coutinho – which resulted in a cute dink over David de Gea – secured the crucial away goal right on the stroke of half-time and effectively sealed the tie in Liverpool’s favour.
United pressed hard in the second half, but were thwarted by some good defensive teamwork by Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Liverpool will learn their opponents for the quarter-finals when the draw is made on Friday. One potential opponent is Borussia Dortmund, Klopp’s former club with whom he reached the Champions League final in 2013, which was played at Wembley.
We take a detailed view of each player’s performance and assign them a rating from 1-10:
Manchester United
David de Gea – 7.5
The Spaniard made a number of decent saves, including a brilliant tip over from a thunderous Coutinho strike. He could do absolutely nothing about Coutinho’s dinked goal.
Guillermo Varela – 6
He was outpaced by Coutinho for Liverpool’s equaliser. No one could really blame Varela for that, it was just pure class by the Brazilian. The Uruguayan was taken off at half-time for Antonio Valencia.
Chris Smalling – 7
The centre-back looked solid at the back. He was aware of the threat Liverpool could pose on the break and remained composed throughout.
Daley Blind – 7
The Dutchman too remained on his feet while dealing with Liverpool’s counter charges. He kept Sturridge at bay. Was stretched a bit by Origi late on.
Marcos Rojo – 6.5
He could have put United 2-0 up just before Coutinho’s equaliser, only to scuff his shot wide. He tried to offer a lot up the field, linking up with Anthony Martial to help cut open the Liverpool defence. He got substituted for Matteo Darmian in the second half.
Michael Carrick – 7
The veteran midfielder set Manchester United’s attacks with his ground and long passes. Stayed back most of the time to shield his defence in the event of Liverpool launching a counter attack.
Marouane Fellaini – 7
A much better performance for the big, burly Belgian. He won nearly all his aerial duels and was passing the ball around nicely. He was dynamic in a left central midfield position, understanding United’s urgency to go forward and finding his passing target swiftly to send the attack on their way. He does lose ratings for his yellow card for elbowing an opponent.
Jesse Lingard – 6.5
The 23-year old fluffed a wonderful chance to put United ahead, seeing his effort well saved by Simon Mignolet. He held the ball up pretty well on the right wing – giving Varela and Valencia possession for them to advance forward in either half. However, he was ineffective when he found himself involved in the heart of United’s attacks, giving away possession and shooting well off target on a particular occasion.
Juan Mata – 6.5
A quiet display by the Spanish playmaker, whose lack of pace suited Liverpool’s defenders very well as they were able to cover him pretty effectively.
Anthony Martial – 7
Once again, the 20-year old displayed his adroitness on the ball with his quickfire skipping and dribbling to unsettle Nathaniel Clyne. The former’s trickery forced the latter to bring him down, resulting in a penalty and United’s first goal. He was double-manned by Clyne and Lallana in the second half, preventing him from finding the rquired openings to create goal-scoring opportunities. His wayward shooting was a problem all night.
Marcus Rashford – 7
He was electric on the right side of midfield, completing a couple of impressive dribbles past Milner and making a number of dashing runs towards the byeline. All that came to no avail.
Substitutes:
Antonio Valencia – 7
Making his first start since returning from injury, the Ecuadorian fullback kept haring at Emre Can and James Milner with his pace on the ball. He managed to win the ball from the opponents on a number of instances, helping his side create chances.
Matteo Darmian – 6
He replaced Marcos Rojo midway through the second half in a bid to inject some pace into United’s desperate attacking force. However, the Italian could not influence his side’s dynamics to turn the tie in United’s favour.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 5.5
The German midfielder was thrown on with 20 minutes to go in an attempt to introduce some creativity to United’s system. But he will be remembered for a dangerous snapping tackle on Adam Lallana on the edge of the 18-yard box.