Manchester United 0-0 Manchester City: Player Ratings

Manchester United’s Anthony Martial troubled the Manchester City defence time and again

Manchester United and Manchester City played out a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday to leave City at the top of the table and United in fourth – both on goal difference. A lot was expected from this game, but neither side delivered in a drab affair. Here are the player ratings from the match.

Manchester United

David de Gea – 6/10

The Spaniard had a quiet afternoon and didn’t really have much to do. There were some routine saves which he was expected to make.

Antonio Valencia – 7/10

He came into the side in place of Matteo Darmian and put in an impressive show. He was efficient at the back and made some attacking runs forward until his injury. Louis van Gaal is sure to have selection problems in the upcoming games with regard to the right back position if Valencia is fit.

Phil Jones – 7/10

The Englishman had to respond on a number of occasions in the first half but in the second period, he hardly had anything to do. Earlier on, he made some fine tackles and a few interceptions to prevent Bony and co from scoring.

Chris Smalling – 7/10

Smalling has been a consistent performer for United this season and that continued. He partnered Jones really well at the back and thanks to his teammates and the opposition, didn’t have much to do.

Phil Jones Chris Smalling — The United defence did a good job of keeping City at bay

Marcos Rojo – 7/10

The Argentine was lively down the left flank for United. He made some runs forward and deliverd a couple of good crosses into the box. A cross into the box early in the second half was unfortunately not capitalized on by his teammates.

Morgan Schneiderlin – 6/10

The ex-Saints midfielder had his first taste of the Manchester derby and, judging by that standards, had a fairly good outing. He partnered his German colleague nicely in the role of the holding midfielder.

Bastian Schweinsteiger – 5/10

The German World Cup winner has played some big games and has put in some incredible performances. But today was not one of those days. Schweinsteiger was lacking the creativity which he normally shows and was removed with Fellaini coming on in his place.

Juan Mata – 5/10

Juan Mata was a big disappointment. He had plenty of the ball but unfortunately could not do much with it and was dispossessed time and again. A lot was expected of him and he did not deliver.

Ander Herrera – 6/10

Just like his colleagues in attack, the former Bilbao man had a lot of the ball but lacked the creativity to do anything with it. It was important for him to link up well with Martial but that did not happen.

Anthony Martial – 7/10

He was possibly the most exciting United player on the pitch, terrorizing the City defence down the left wing. From the home side’s perspective, he was the best player and yet they could not provide for him. A few more chances and Martial could have made the difference.

Wayne Rooney – 5/10

The captain was the biggest disappointment and appeared rather out of place on a few occasions. A few years ago, it was a Wayne Rooney overhead kick that settled the Manchester Derby but nothing close to that happened on Sunday.

55% passing accuracy for Wayne Rooney. No shots on target. No chances created. Lost possession five more times than any other player.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) October 25, 2015

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Substitutes

Jesse Lingard – 6/10

He came on in place of Mata and put in a decent performance, bringing a bit of pace and liveliness to the United attack, and that was certainly nice from the fans’ perspective. In fact, he came close to scoring in the 84th minute from a Martial lob but the crossbar stood in his way.

Marouane Fellaini – 5/10

The Belgian replaced Schweinsteiger and came close to delivering the goods for United. A freekick by Ander Herrera was headed down by Fellaini to Smalling who was denied by Joe Hart.

Matteo Darmian – 6/10

The Italian stepped on to the pitch replacing the injured Antonio Valencia and played well for the last ten minutes, preventing City from making inroads down the wing.

Manchester City

Joe Hart – 7/10

The England shotstopped was the busier of the two goalkeepers. He made some vital saves, especially one late on from a low Smalling shot to keep City in the game.

Bacary Sagna – 5/10

Sagna was kept busy by the United attackers, especially Anthony Martial. He had difficulty in dealing with the Frenchman but, thankfully for him and his side, no damage was done.

Vincent Kompany – 6/10

Just like always, the City captain was rock solid at the back. They were kept busy in the second half but Kompany was there keeping his side in the game, athough he did get booked for a challenge on Martial.

Nicolas Otamendi – 6/10

The Argentine played his first Manchester derby and was really good at the back. He complemented his captain well and it looks his like his pairing with Kompany is set to be the team’s centre back combination for the season.

Aleksandr Kolarov – 6/10

Kolarov provided a good cross into the box late on in the second half but apart from that, he was rather quiet in attack. Defensively he was solid and prevented City from conceding a goal.

Fernandinho – 6/10

The Brazilian midfielder, just like his partner in the role of the holding midfielder, went about his work quietly. He supported the men at the back and also provided some balls forward in the first half.

Fernando – 6/10

He complemented Fernandinho well and was efficient in doing his job. The ex-Porto man doesn’t normally get too many starts but today, he certainly made an impression.

Yaya Toure – 5/10

Yaya Toure was lacking the creativity and the intensity that he usually depicts. Perhaps that was the reason why the service to Bony up front was missing.

Kevin de Bruyne – 5/10

The former Chelsea and wolfsburg man was also below par today. He was expected to take the place of David Silva and deliver but unfortunately, that did not happen.

Raheem Sterling – 5/10

The former Liverpool man had a quiet afternoon and hardly threatened down the left wing. Considering his performance last week, today was a less than decent performance. He was eventually replaced with Jesus Navas coming on in the 55th minute.

Wilfried Bony – 6/10

Bony worked really hard up front. He fell back to help out his midfield but there can be no denying that he appeared isolated quite a number of times with the service lacking.

Substitutes

Jesus Navas – 6/10

The Spaniard came on in place of Sterling and brought some pace into the City attack. But apart from that, he had nothing more to offer.

Martin Demichelis – 6/10

Demichelis played in midfield and was decent. His arrival in place of Yaya Toure made it pretty clear that Pellegrini was willing to shut shop and settle for a point.

Kelechi Iheanacho – 5/10

The City academy man had won a game for the blue half of Manchester after coming on late against Crystal Palace. Unfortunately, that was not to be repeated on Sunday.