FC Midtjylland 2-1 Manchester United: Player ratings
Manchester United had a horrid start to their Europa League campaign as FC Midtjylland came from behind to beat them 2-1 in the first leg of the round-of-32 tie.
Memphis Depay opened the scoring for United but goals from Pione Sisto and Ebera Paul Onuachu completed the turnaround for the Danish side.
Here is how each player fared in the match:
FC Midtjylland
Mikkel Anderson (6.5/10)
The shot stopper was not tested enough by the United attackers, however, other than the Memphis strike, he stood strong and denied the English team as and when required.
Filip Novak (6/10)
Novak was troubled by Lingard’s pace and creativity in the initial stages of the match. His set-piece deliveries and the knack of going forward on every chance helped his team a lot.
Kian Hansen (7/10)
Hansen was gritty and stubborn with his defending and made a couple of last ditch clearances to keep his team in the match.
Nikolay Bodurev (6/10)
Bodurev was not as convincing as his defensive partner Hansen. He was also somewhat responsible for United’s first goal.
Andre Romer (7/10)
The right-back did great in thwarting the threat imposed by Memphis on the flanks. His work-rate going forward was also commendable.
Tim Sparv (7/10)
The midfielder did his best to provide that extra defensive stability to his side. He also kept Juan Mata in check which restricted the Red Devils to a large extent.
Pione Sisto (8/10)
The winger was a big influence in United’s loss. He created problems for the opponent’s defence from the word go and did brillianty to score the first goal.
Rilwan Hassan (6.5/10)
Hassan didn’t have much of an influence on the match. He tried his best going forward, he was not able to fulfil his defensive duties properly.
Kristoffer Olsson (6.5/10)
The midfielder had a decent outing, however, he was guilty of giving away the possession easily on a couple of occasions in the match.
Vaclav Kadlec (6/10)
Kadlec had a glorious chance when he was left one-on-one with Romero but he failed to the convert the chance and United scored from the resulting counter.
Martin Pusic (6/10)
Pusic did not have much to do in the match as he was not given much space by the United back-line. He held the ball well which allowed the players playing wide to come into the game.
Substitutes:
Ebera Paul Onuachu (7.5/10)
Onuachu came on for Martin Pusic in the 60th minute and scored the winning goal for the Danish club.
Marco Urena (6.5/10)
Urena came on in the 67th minute for Rilwan Hassan. He provided the assist for Onuachu’s winner and was good on the ball.
Daniel Royer (N/A)
Royer came on for Kadlec in the 85th minute.
Manchester United
Sergio Romero (7.5/10)
Romero was arguably United’s best player on the pitch. The Argentine made couple of brilliant saves to keep the scoreline respectable for his team.
Daley Blind (6/10)
The Dutchman’s performance on the night was not as good as he would have like. He was good with the passing and set-piece deliveries but his defensive work was not up to the mark.
Chris Smalling (6/10)
The Englishman seemed a bit lost on the night. He was not able to match the host’s pace as his team succumbed to a disappointing loss.
Paddy McNair (6/10)
McNair was beaten by the sheer pace of the Danish side and was not able to keep the opponent attackers in check.
Donald Love (6/10)
The youngster’s work-rate was commendable but he still needs to polish his defensive side.
Ander Herrera (6.5/10)
The Spaniard started the match well, spraying out some good passes to the attacking players but lost his touch with the progression of the match.
Michael Carrick (5.5/10)
The United veteran was expected to keep the Danish side at bay and help his team going forward. However, he failed in both and his defensive error resulted in Midtjylland’s first goal.
Memphis (6.5/10)
Memphis scored the opening goal of the match as he somehow latched on to Lingard’s cross after failing to control the ball properly in the first place. He tried various dribbles to enter the box from left side but failed miserably.
Juan Mata (5/10)
The Spanish playmaker was supposed to provide United the cutting edge against the Danish side. However, he failed to give the added creativity to the attack and was wasteful with his passing.
Jesse Lingard (6.5/10)
Lingard created a lot of problems for Midtjylland’s left-back Novak. He generated decent pace but was unable to give United some breathing space going into the second leg as his shot struck the bar in the latter stages of the match.
Anthony Martial (6.5/10)
The French prodigy was good with his dribbling and troubled the opponent’s defence a lot. However, his finishing let him down.
Substitutes:
Morgan Schneiderlin (5/10)
The midfielder was brought on for Herrera in the 72nd minute. His performance was below par and United conceded a goal five minutes after he was introduced.
Andreas Perreira (5.5/10)
The Brazilian was brought on for ineffective Mata in the 78th minute but was not able to produce that one magic moment which the Red Devils craved for.