Manchester United
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David de Gea – 8
Another game where the Spaniard brought his side out of jail with a brilliant performance. He managed to get fingertips to Sturridge’s spot-kick, following which he denied Coutinho, Sturridge and Lallana with some unreal saves. Manchester United can be thankful to him for just about keeping them in the contest as they return to Old Trafford for the second leg.
Guillermo Varela – 6.5
A tough game for the Uruguayan fullback with Coutinho and Alberto Moreno running circles around him throughout the 90 minutes. He tried to offer something going forward too, but was unable to provide any impact even in that half of the pitch – none of his crosses found a white United jersey.
Chris Smalling – 6.5
Chris Smalling’s positioning was alright but he too found himself too slow to react to Liverpool’s pace on the offensive. He failed to keep up with Lallana in the first half, whose shot was saved by David de Gea. Critically enough, he was unable to come across Roberto Firmino’s shot from six yards to concede the second goal. A night of disappointment for the 26-year old.
Daley Blind – 6.5
The Dutch defender found the going tough right from the off as he struggled to deal with the sheer pace of Liverpool’s attacking quartet. He was shifted to left wing-back as part of Louis van Gaal’s 3-5-2 formation in the second half, but none of his approaching runs gave Clyne any significant problems.
Marcos Rojo – 6
A forgettable outing for United’s left-back as he never looked comfortable closing down Adam Lallana on the right-hand side. The Argentine always looked second best in one-on-one duels with Lallana. His first half shot from around 25 yards was badly timed, sailing high over the crossbar.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 7
The Frenchman looked United’s most fluent player on the night, attempting to send the United frontline on their bikes with some meaningful passes. All to no avail. He did muster United’s only shot on target – which was easily dealt with by Simon Mognolet.
Marouane Fellaini – 6
Fellaini was found guilty of dispossession on a number of instances in the game, handing the initiative over to the opposition. He can be considered lucky not to receive a second yellow card for a number of cynical fouls and also came very close to scoring a header late in the game, but it wasn’t to be his day.
Anthony Martial – 6.5
The young attacker was unable to produce the sort of magic his dancing feet bring to the game thanks to Manchester United’s complete failure to get hold of the ball. He failed to have even a single crack at goal, let alone one on target.
Juan Mata – 6.5
An insipid display from United’s stand-in captain, who found the pace of the game too quick for his liking. In attack, all his attempted through passes were being intercepted. In defence, he was hapless against the tempo the opposition attack set all night long.
Memphis Depay – 6
Depay clumsily gave away the penalty in the first half which was converted by Daniel Sturridge. The Dutch attacker was inept with his set-pieces as well. He did make a fierce cutting run at the hour mark to unsettle the Liverpool defence, but that was that.
Marcus Rashford – 5.5
Liverpool’s domination meant that he had to subdue himself to a defensive role for large periods during the game. His ineffectiveness forced the manager to take him off at the break.
Substitutions
Michael Carrick – 6.5
Carrick was brought on at half-time to bring a little bit of calmness to the United system, who were absolutely battered in the first half. The move initially looked like it was working, as United started to gain a foothold in the tie. A poor clearance, however, undid all his good work as Lallana and Firmino linked up to extend Liverpool’s aggregate lead going into the second leg.
Bastian Schweinsteiger – 6.5
The former Champions League winner with Bayern Munich was thrown on to bring some creativity into the midfield. Apart from a dangerous cross to Fellaini, he was never going to mark any blots on Liverpool’s domination.
Ander Herrera – 5.5
Herrera replaced Juan Mata in an attacking midfield position in a desperate attempt from United’s management to take an away goal back to Old Trafford but did nothing of note.
