RATINGS: How Manchester United Rated Against Blackburn
Posted on January 1st, 2012 | by The United Religion in Blackburn,Premier League
To end 2011 on a low, Manchester United slumped to a 3-2 loss to a struggling Blackburn Rovers side, but who did enough to earn Man of the Match honors for the Reds?
David de Gea – 4
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| United were constantly sent the wrong way |
Couldn’t do much but guess on the penalty or Yakubu’s second, but de Gea has to shoulder the responsibility for not handling the cross that led to the third goal properly.
Antonio Valencia – 7 (Man of the Match)
Continued his return to form with another assist, but Valencia was unable to carry the creative load by himself.
Michael Carrick – 5
Showed his limitations he has a center-back against a proven goalscorer, and he should have commanded from the back a bit better, but Carrick shouldn’t be faulted for filling in when no other players could, either.
Phil Jones – 6
Facing his old team for the first time, Jones was in the mood to score, but his own teammates blocked his two goal-bound efforts, and he did only okay defensively.
Patrice Evra – 6
No real faults with his performance overall, and he nearly scored for the first time in over a year, but Evra should’ve led by example a little
Nani – 6
Sporting a new haircut, Nani showed more industry than flare, and even picked up a yellow card for a cynical tackle, but his finishing was far below what United fans have come to expect from him, which was where he was need most.
Ji-Sung Park – 5
Like he normally does, Park worked his socks off for the United cause, especially in the first-half, but there was nothing refined about his performance, whatsoever.
Rafael – 6
Completely out of sorts in the center of the midfield but, to his credit, Rafael played much, much better after the break – when he was in his natural right-back position.
Danny Welbeck – 6
A center forward by nature, Welbeck was completely against it playing as a winger out on the left, which ruined his chance of making an impact against Blackburn.
Dimitar Berbatov – 7
Will be blamed for the penalty, but Berbatov did more than enough to make up for that defensive error by notching two more goals – six in his last three games.
Javier Hernandez – 4
Had a tough time getting into the match and Hernandez’s most significant contributions was unknowingly blocking a certain goal by Jones – and was subbed off at halftime.
Substitutions
Anderson – 7
Only coming back from injury, Anderson turned in a decent performance in the middle, which nearly helped United come back from the depths of defeat.
Will Keane – 6
Making his Premier League debut, Keane showed more energy and willingness than some, but he didn’t have any time to make his presence felt.
Overall – 3
To lose to the team at the foot of the table is never a good thing, but Manchester United always have a habit to losing to a team destine for the drop and then winning the title, let’s hope that’s the case with this performance against Blackburn.
Ratings: 1. Horrendous; 2. An awful day; 3. A depressing time; 4. A forgettable performance; 5. Could have done better; 6. An average performance; 7. A good performance; 8. A dynamic display; 9. An excellent all-around game; 10. A performance for the ages
