EPL 2017/18: Stoke City 2-2 Manchester United, Player Ratings

United were held to a 2-2 draw against Stoke City
United were held to a 2-2 draw against Stoke City at the Bet 365 stadium

Manchester United:

Manchester United v Stoke City - Premier League
Rashford opened the scoring for Man United

David De Gea: 7/10

The Spaniard made a couple of decent saves during the game including an excellent reaction save from Jese Rodriguez during the second half. De Gea got all his basics right and couldn't do much in stopping the two goals from being conceded.

Antonio Valencia: 6/10

Valencia troubled Stoke's wing backs with his pace and linked up nicely with Pogba and Herrera on the right hand side. Valencia would be slightly disappointed as his end product was a bit off the mark.

Eric Bailly: 4.5/10

The Ivorian was to be blamed for Stoke's opening goal as he played Diouf onside and didn't do enough to put Choupo-Moting off. It was an uncharacteristic performance from Bailly who also conceded the corner from which Stoke scored.

Phil Jones: 5/10

Jones made a steady start to the game and wasn't troubled by the right hand side of Stoke's attack during the initial moments of the game. The England International was easily beaten to the ball by Choupo-Moting, who pounced on this opportunity to get Stoke's second goal.

Matteo Darmian: 4/10

The Italian was caught out of position on numerous occasions and gave away the ball far too easily quite a few times. Darmian was troubled by the likes of Shaqiri and, like Bailly, played Diouf onside in the build up to the first goal.

Nemanja Matic: 7.5/10

Matic did a brilliant job in shielding the back four and preventing the likes of Joe Allen from dictating play. The Serbian international was also commendable in keeping and recovering possession on numerous occasions. Matic helped break down quite a few attacks from the opposition.

Ander Herrera: 6/10

Herrera used his vast reserve of energy, making some vital tackles which helped nullify the opposition's attack. The Spaniard linked up seamlessly with Pogba and Valencia in order to initiate some attacks down the left hand side of Stoke's defence.

Paul Pogba: 7/10

The Frenchman used his physicality and creativity to great effect to trouble Stoke's midfield, creating a number of through balls for the forwards to attack. Pogba would be dejected not to get a goal or an assist for all the hard work.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 6/10

Mkhitaryan had a decent outing against Stoke. Although the Armenian was subdued for some parts of the game, he played a defence splitting through ball which was finished by Lukaku for United's second goal, taking his assists tally to 5 for the season.

Marcus Rashford: 7.5/10

Rashford was a continuous threat to the right hand side of Stoke City's defence. His direct approach helped carve out a lot of chances for his teammates and himself. The youngster scored a goal in the cusp of half time.

Lukaku celebrates after giving United the lead
Lukaku celebrates after giving United the lead

Romelu Lukaku: 7.5/10

The Belgian was well marshalled by Stoke's centre backs during the initial stages of the game but as the game progressed, his influence grew. Lukaku made some smart runs behind Stoke's defence which eventually resulted in him getting a goal.

Substitutes:

Juan Mata: 4/10

Mata came on for Ander Herrera in the 72nd minute but couldn't do much to help United secure all three points.

Anthony Martial: 6/10

Martial came on for Rashford in the 72nd minute and provided a beautiful cross for Lukaku who missed from close range.

Jese Lingard: N/A

Lingard replaced Mkhitaryan in the 84th minute but couldn't help United grab a late winner.

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