Southampton 2-3 Manchester United: Player Ratings
By Kyle Hull
Manchester United took a major step in overcoming a very difficult and poor start in their 3-2 victory over Southampton thanks to two goals by teenager Anthony Martial.
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The team certainly looked poor at the start of the match, particularly defensively where Southampton were continually pushing the ball forward and earning strong chances before scoring the first goal at the expense of an out of sorts Daley Blind.
The club eventually battled back and found a rhythm offensively led by Anthony Martial. The French striker scored twice, before Juan Mata’s striker rounded a sublime team move. Graziano Pelle added a late goal for Southampton to make for a nervy ending but the Reds held on for maximum points.
In a game with so many levels of performance, here are our ratings for the game.
David De Gea – 9
My personal man of the match. There is no doubt the Spaniard saved the game on multiple occasions for the team with some absolutely fantastic saves. I do not think the result had been the same with Romero in goal and it showed how important his contract renewal was. A fantastic performance by the best keeper in the league.
Matteo Darmian – 5
A step back from his excellent form last month. The right back seemed to struggle to keep up at times and did not work the ball forward like he had before. Frankly not impressive nor effective, leading to him being pulled off at half-time and replaced by Antonio Valencia.
Chris Smalling – 6
The centre-backs didn’t play well today, but Smalling picked up the play as the match went on. Not one of his best matches, but he still performed well when it mattered most and the game was on the line at the end, showing his developing leadership qualities again.
Daley Blind – 5
The Dutchman simply did not play well. He looked too slow, overpowered and not appropriate for the match-up against Graziano Pelle. Today showed that he can’t be a centre-back for the future and that someone will eventually have to fill that role instead.
Marcos Rojo – 7
Rojo performed well in his first start at left-back this season. He moved the ball forward well and came back in defence when needed, showing similar fitness levels to Luke Shaw. He seemed to link up well with Memphis on the left side and could be an effective defender in Shaw’s absence, although he was substituted with fatigue after spending so long on the sidelines.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 8
Schneiderlin looked strong in his first return to Southampton since he transferred to Old Trafford. He played very well in the midfield defensively making some very strong tackles, some which had the home crowd calling for a yellow card but overall protected the defence fairly well after overcoming a slow start.
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Michael Carrick – 7
I can’t say I was impressed with Carrick’s performance yet again. He showed that he has the ability to command the field when he has the ball, but did not always move the ball forward well and had to retreat instead of pushing forward which often led to the Reds getting trapped.
Juan Mata – 7
The Spaniard looked much better today than he has recently. Finding consistency in the right wing position could be a major factor to this as United were finally able to take advantage of one of his runs when Martial scored the sides first goal. Mata also got onto the score-sheet with what ended up being the game-winning goal as well. A very good day.
Wayne Rooney – 6
Louis van Gaal moved the captain back into the attacking midfielder position after returning from injury now that Martial has found success. Overall, I can’t say that he had a good day. He seemed to lack pace and had gave the ball away too much for my liking. Not a great return, but I don’t think it is time to give up on him in the number ten role yet.
Memphis Depay – 6
The left winger had a good day with some fine runs, sadly none of which found the back of the net. However, I can’t say that I did not see the match as progress. This was one of his better Premier League starts. I’d like to give him a seven, but I am going to drop it down simply for his missed opportunities. A magnificent bit of skill in the build up for the third goal as he watched his strike crash off the post and rebound to Mata.
Anthony Martial – 9
What a great day for the teenager. Two excellent goals that he delivered to first tie the match and then take the lead, Martial is silencing all of the critics that doubted the club for spending so much on him. An excellent performance from someone who will one day be a star once he further develops.
Substitutes
Antonio Valencia – 7
This was a great strategic move by the manager. Valencia looked strong coming in for Darmian at half-time and seemed to partner well with Mata, moving forward well and playing well defensively, completely shutting Tadic out of the game.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 7
A needed day of rest kept the German from starting today most likely, but he looked strong as he normally does after coming on for Carrick in the 60th minute. He simply has a natural ability to command the pitch and make good passes. Another world class performance.
Patrick McNair – 6
Not a major impact on the game but certainly nice to see him get some playing time. He may have been quite exposed for the second goal, but I think he could be an improvement over Blind with some more experience.