Premier League 2017/18; Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Player Ratings

The first game of the weekend provided us with a heavyweight clash between two of the league’s potential title contenders. Manchester United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford, with Jose Mourinho looking to make last week’s historic defeat a distant memory.

Meanwhile, Mauricio Pochettino came into the game without his most prized asset, Harry Kane.

What followed was a cagey affair between two tactically well-drilled teams. In the end, it was only a moment of quality from Anthony Martial that separated the teams. The win means United stay clear of Tottenham in 2nd place, only two points behind Manchester City.

Here’s how the players on either team rated:

Manchester United

David de Gea: 6/10

David De Gea was relatively untested throughout the match and had to make 4 routine saves in the 90 minutes. But in Tottenham’s more dominant spells, he also maintained his concentration to snuff out any potential crosses.

Antonio Valencia: 7/10

The powerful right-back found himself even more in the attacking third than usual as Mourinho deployed him in the wing-back role. The Portuguese manager has always favoured him in United’s build-up and the Ecuadorian responded by having 70 touches of the ball and creating 2 chances.

Eric Bailly: 6/10

Bailly made his much-anticipated return to the United starting XI after spending 21 days on the sidelines. However, on his return, Bailly didn’t have much to do as Christian Eriksen refused to run at him.

Chris Smalling: 6/10

The former England captain didn’t have much to do in defence besides cover the irrational Phil Jones. Throughout the course of the game, Smalling won 2 aerials, won 2 tackle and completed 26 passes.

Phil Jones: 5/10

For some reason Phil Jones kept stepping out of his defensive line, often leaving his teammates exposed. Fortunately for the Englishman, Tottenham were adept enough to expose him.

Ashley Young: 8/10

Under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho, Ashley Young has reinvigorated his career. In a time where both Luke Shaw and Daley Blind have failed to step up, the makeshift defender has excelled. Against Tottenham, Young completed 22 passes, won 2 aerials and successfully completed 100% of his tackles.

Ander Herrera: 5/10

The Spaniard’s job in the middle of the park is to press the opposing team and initiate counter attacks. To be fair to him, he did keep Harry Winks quiet but his contribution in attacks were minimal.

Nemanja Matic: 6/10

The Serbian shielded his back three efficiently and never really looked vulnerable at any point. He didn't put a foot wrong in either defence or attack, the 29-year-old maintained a 74% pass accuracy through the game.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 5.5/10

Manchester United’s most creative player struggled immensely to break down Tottenham’s compact defence, he was deprived of space and didn’t have the freedom to float on to the wings either. Subsequently, he was substituted in the 65th minute.

Marcus Rashford: 6.5/10

As ever, Marcus Rashford was Manchester United only forward outlet on the counter-attack. The 19-year-old constantly tried to run at the Tottenham defence but his efforts were in vain.

Romelu Lukaku: 6.5/10

The Belgian forward was limited in his service, but through his unrivalled power, Lukaku made chances for himself. Romelu hit the post and came close to breaking the deadlock several times on his own.

Substitutions:

Anthony Martial: 7/10

The Frenchman came on in the 70th minute and showed Jose Mourinho why he should be starting every match. Martial came on and changed the game, making several attacking runs that stretched Tottenham’s back three. Eleven minutes after coming on, Martial scored the winning goal in a hotly contested affair.

Jesse Lingard: 5/10

The pacey playmaker got himself into several threatening positions, but his evident lack of quality meant he couldn’t convert from those opportunities.

Matteo Darmian: N/A

The full-back had minimal time on the pitch and couldn’t affect the game.

Tottenham Hotspur

Hugo Lloris: 6.5/10

France’s no.1 keeper was only called into action a few times, but he responded to those calls in emphatic fashion. Even for the goal he conceded, Lloris did his best to rush out & meet Anthony Martial, but the Frenchman was too quick for him & his defence.

Serge Aurier: 6/10

Serge Aurier was a constant threat down the right flank for Tottenham. His willingness to make forward runs meant he was an ever-present passing option for Christian Eriksen. However, the Ivorian didn’t make any risks in attack, meaning his contributions were redundant and safe.

Toby Alderweireld: 5.5/10

Alderweireld did his best to go toe to toe with Romelu Lukaku, but failed in the all-important moments of the match, as Lukaku rose above him severely to hit the post and then later on to assist Anthony Martial.

Eric Dier: 6/10

The Englishman had to constantly deal with the inward runs of Marcus Rashford. The 19-year-old kept dropping back to run down the flanks instead of staying up in a front two. Dier had a solid game but struggled when put under pressure. And it was his due to his incompetent positioning that allowed Martial to run in behind and score.

Jan Vertonghen: 6/10

Despite constantly being under pressure, Vertonghen was able to maintain his composure and organise Spurs’ high defensive line. However, the 30-year-old only won 33% of his aerials and was dribbled past twice.

Ben Davies: 6.5/10

The industrious wing-back was resolute in his defensive work but limited in the attacking phase of the game. The constant bombing forward of Antonio Valencia pegged the Welshman back, forcing him to stay in his defensive third.

Moussa Sissoko: 6/10

In an unfamiliar CM role, the Frenchman did his best to help Spurs in both defence and attack. Sissoko acted as a pressing machine off the ball and in attack, he used his driving power to quicken Tottenham’s transitions.

Harry Winks: 5/10

The youngster looked out of place in the middle of Old Trafford, as he struggled to dictate the tempo for the Pochettino’s men. In the heart of midfield, Winks created 1 chance, completed 59 passes and was dribbled past twice.

Christian Eriksen: 6.5/10

Tottenham’s most creative player struggled to get a foothold in the game until he was instructed to move from the left into the position of right attacking midfield. After that, he started to control Spurs’ moves in the final third and almost set up Dele Alli for a decisive winner.

Dele Alli: 5/10

The 21-year-old had Tottenham’s best chance of the game and on another day, we could be hailing Alli as Tottenham’s saviour. However, apart from his one miss, Alli didn’t do anything to affect the game.

Heung-Min Son: 6/10

Playing as an isolated central forward, Heung-Min Son did his best to stretch Manchester United’s back three, but with limited support, he couldn’t really threaten United’s goal.

Substitutions:

Moussa Dembele: 6/10

The Belgian proved to us in his little cameo what a useful asset he would’ve been if fit to start the game. In a short space of time, he completed 19 passes, created 2 chances, made 2 tackles and completed 1 dribble.

Fernando Llorente: 5/10

Besides winning a few aerials, the Spaniard didn’t make too make of a difference in the time that he was on the pitch.