”Utterly dreadful”
These words have been reverberating in my head ever since the commentator used them to describe Manchester United’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur. Now, they find themselves fifteen points behind their cross-town rivals, an injured Marouane Fellaini who had to be substituted mere minutes after he came on the pitch, completely dominated by a team struggling to find their feet since the last two months and yeah, they now face a team whom they lost against in a similar manner early in the season.
Welcome, fans!
Player Ratings:
David de Gea: 7/10
Was not at fault for either of the goals. Did his best to command the box but was let down by a horrible defensive display by the entire team.
Antonio Valencia: 6.5/10
A solid defensive display by him and he made some clean and crucial tackles throughout the game. The only man in the backline who showed composure under pressure.
Chris Smalling: 3/10
Smalling lost an important aerial duel, fine; defenders do that. However, if you fail to spot a seventy-yard long ball from Spurs and give Dele Alli acres of space to grab an assist, you deserve a hell lot of stick from the manager.
Phil Jones: 3/10
Jones was responsible for both the goals but the howler for the second one stands out. A poor technique as he was unable to sort out his feet and that pretty much summed up the game for him. Made some good blocks but they were useless in the bigger perspective.
Ashley Young: 5/10
Provided width but often needed the help of other teammates while dealing with Trippier. His crossing was wayward too and hence that hurt United as Lukaku was starved of better deliveries inside the box by the Englishman.
Nemanja Matic: 5/10
Guilty of failing to position himself better at certain times, though he won the ball back well and also intercepted some passes to drive the team ahead but United needed more from him.
Paul Pogba: 4/10
Pogba will definitely see better days in a United shirt as the Frenchman went completely anonymous in the first half. He lost numerous duels with Moussa Dembele and was unable to boss the midfield like his usual self.
Jesse Lingard: 6/10
One of the better players, though the bar was set quite low. Lingard was the only ray of hope with his clever running in the first half. Was substituted to bring in the aerial ability of Marouane Fellaini.
Anthony Martial: 5.5/10
Created some inroads with his footwork but couldn’t capitalise on the chances. But he was really lacklustre with his defensive work and showed no intent to win the ball back.
Alexis Sanchez: 7.5/10
Sanchez showed why Mourinho went all out for him as the Chilean was relentless in his pursuit of the ball. He made his way out of compact spaces with his silky touches and lobbed passes. However, he did not get the chances in front of goal. Moreover, he had to track back continuously to help out Young and was often seen bringing the ball out alone from the back.
Romelu Lukaku: 5/10
Lukaku failed to take his chances and was again lacklustre with his defensive contribution and positioning.
Substitutes:
Juan Mata: 5/10
Mata was brought on to add some creativity but failed to do so as he struggled to find his feet in the game.
Marouane Fellaini: N.A
Fellaini increased doubts over his injury troubles as the Belgian had to be taken off within minutes of coming on the pitch due to an issue with his ligament.
Ander Herrera: N.A
No notable contribution.
