Date: 16th December 2012 at 2:37am
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Rooney celebrates with Cleverley in the win over SunderlandDavid De Gea: Had a relatively quiet afternoon until the game got into it’s later stages, so will be disappointed to have conceded. Shot stopping is as good as ever and made a good save to spare Ferdinand’s blushes as well as saving with his legs to deny Wickham. 7

Patrice Evra: Getting forward was as impressive as ever and had the better of Adam Johnson too. Has shown an increased goal threat this season and had a few sniffs of goal today as well. He and Young continue to impress as they link up on the left flank. 7

Rio Ferdinand: Seems like the defender has a mistake in him these days, and today it almost proved costly as he allowed James McClean clean through after being pickpocketed. Whilst his age is working against him, he is still able to operate competently enough. 6.5

Chris Smalling: Paired with Ferdinand in Evans’ absence and again showed why he is held in such high regard. Shackled Steven Fletcher refusing to give the striker space but like the rest of the defence was culpable for Campbell’s goal. 7.5

Phil Jones: Stepped in at right back for the injured Rafael and did his best impression of the Brazilian getting forward, although his end productive was slightly off at times. In his first Premier League start of the season Jones did well to neutralise the threat of James McClean and continues to shake off the rust having spent months on the sidelines. 7

Michael Carrick: Was able to show off a bit more of his offensive game as Sunderland offered very little in the middle of the park. His slick interchange with Cleverley for United’s second was the highlight of a game cut short at 45 minutes. 6

Tom Cleverley: Got his 3rd goal of the season, a cooly struck finish after some good play with Michael Carrick. Whilst Sunderland weren’t the strongest opposition, it is performances like these that show what Cleverley can offer to the team as he proved to be the spark going forward on various occasions. 7.5

Ashley Young: Continues to improve after coming in for some stick (from me as well as others) this season. Gave Cuellar fits today and he embarrassed the defender down the flank for United first. Continually got involved as United exerted their dominance over Sunderland and played his part as Rooney mised an early chance. 8

Antonio Valencia: Started the game well but seemed to fade out as the game went on. Should have done better against a defender of Jack Colback’s quality but is returning from an injury so it is understandable. 7

Wayne Rooney: Pulled the string for United again today and whilst he was guilty of missing two clear chances, heading and volleying off target, he got his name on the scoresheet after Van Persie found him with a cross. Is United’s most influential player and the longer he floats around in that withdrawn role and controls United’s attacking play, the better. 8

Robin Van Persie: The striker can sometimes incorrectly be painted as just a goalscorer, but he has so much more to his game and works extremely hard for the team. A sublime finish for United’s opener and laid on a third for Rooney as United went to town. The striker has long proved himself worth the reported £24m Sir Alex spent to bring him to Old Trafford in the summer, and his goals and overall contribution will go some way helping United regain their Premier League crown. 8

Subs

Paul Scholes: Came on for Michael Carrick at half time and exercised his usual control over the game. As Sunderland came to life a more physical approach almost threw him out of his stride. 6

Nemanja Vidic: His long awaited return was greeted with a roar and as Sunderland rallied late on to try and get something from the game, he and Smalling combined to keep them at bay. The road back to ‘Super Vidic’ will be a long one, but having regular Vidic is as big a boost as a team could wish for. 6

Ryan Giggs: Came on with 15 minutes to go and helped United maintain their lead even if he had no real impact on the game’s outcome. 5.5

 

11 responses to “PLAYER RATINGS vs Sunderland”

  1. Dhina says:

    Carrick 6 and Valencia 7? Completely disagree. Carrick was our best player, together with Cleverley, which showed in the first half. AV is by far our poorest player this season and that’s saying something. Did nothing except a run mid-way through the 2nd half. Not sure if we should keep giving him the benefit of doubt over his hip injury- it seems his cult status is protecting him from criticism. I’d rank Carrick 8/8.5 and AV no more than 5.

  2. Berns otipah says:

    Thats very true kevan,think our legends can hang’ their boots…we still nid rodriguez and wanyama

  3. Bright Owusu says:

    Man united will champions these season.

  4. Olaminiyi says:

    I enjoy seeing carrick and cleverley in the middle of the park these days.i enjoy their interchange of passes,defending and going forward.And for Jones it was a really good performances by him replacing rafael perfectly.i can’t wait to see Anderson back into the team too.for the two legends,they are over ran in the midfield,and i believe this season should be there last.

  5. Chimezie Dike Kaduna,Nigeria says:

    Valencia 4, Carrick 8. Its boring watching the former play this days.Young has proved me wrong in his last 3 games..Jones in my view has always been good.

  6. Pre Munich Red says:

    Carrick and Cleverley ran the show in the first half. We deteriorated once Carrick went off because Cleverley missed Carrick’s support. I thought Jones’ distribution was really good despite limping with a knock for much of the game. If Anderson returns playing as we’ll as he was before his injury and Kagawa gets into his stride we shouldn’t buy a midfielder in January unless a truly world class player becomes available.

  7. tom says:

    Very kind rating for Valencia to be honest. He was poor and Carrick did a lot more even in 45 min. Valencia is a top player but he is of form and frustrated as well. Kagawa needs to return so we can give Valencia a break and some time off. We need him back to his best but he hasn’t recovered from this injury it seems. We need to protect him.