United v Sporting: Player ratings

November 27, 2007

LEVELLER: Carlos Tevez celebrates with John O'Shea

Kuszczak: Fluke or not, his big chance had a damaging blemish on it 5

O'Shea: So long since he's been at right back for Reds, and it showed at times 5

Evra: No Kevin Davies to interrupt his flow, and he at least had some confidence about him 7

Ferdinand: No great threat from Sporting's attack made it fairly easy for him 6

Vidic: Eased back into his solid routine after injury 6

Fletcher: So desperate to make the most of his chance, the Scot just never got to grips in midfield 4

Carrick: Marginally better than at Bolton, but it was touch and go 5

Anderson: The Brazilian was a mixture of decent touches and long periods of inactivity 5

Nani: Didn't show his ex-colleagues just how much he has improved at Old Trafford 4

Ronaldo: Began in exciting fashion and finished with a bang 7

Saha: The Frenchman looked to have lost a gear and moans from the crowd said it all 4

Substitutes:

Giggs: (for Nani, 45) - Entertained with one or two touches 6

Tevez: (for Fletcher, 45) - Gave Reds some urgency 6

Hargreaves: (for Saha, 79) - Came close in the last few minutes 5

NOT USED: Brown, Pique, Simpson, Van der Sar

Sporting Lisbon: Rui Patricio, Had, Polga, Izmailov (Pereirinha 81), Purovic (Farnerud 81), Tonel, Veloso, Moutinho, Romagnoli (Vukcevic 67), Liedson, Abel

Bookings: United: Ronaldo (80), Evra (83) Sporting: Had (47)

Referee: Claus Larsen (Denmark) On top of game 7

Attendance: 75,162

Agree with the ratings? Have your say.

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Lee , Heywood, Heywood (27/11/2007 at 22:24)

Ratings are a little harsh. Thought Carrick had a good game-7 as did Anderson-7. Rio and Vidic were class 7's and Evra was brilliant-8. Kitkat is dodgy-5 Oshea is oshea-5 Fletcher is sunday league-3 Saha was again poor-4 Nani lost the ball every time he touched it -4 Giggs was ok-6 Tevez was class-7 and Ronaldo suprise suprise was MoM -8.

Barry, Happy Valley,, San Francisco, California (27/11/2007 at 22:25)

Nice free kick to win the game but otherwise we looked
rudderless in midfield and
badly in need of Scholes return to steady the ship.
I'd give this lot a 5 overall
and a good clip around the
ear'ole.
Up the Reds,

Joe, Malta (27/11/2007 at 22:35)

Saha was poor today, but it still showed that we need a proper centre-forward up front.

In the second half, within the same action, both Ronaldo and Tevez put in 2 balls just across the goal with no United players attacking the ball. It showed how desperate we are for a good finisher

Wunderkid (27/11/2007 at 22:38)

Da Wunderkid's ratings:

T.K. - 3
O'Shea - 4
Ferdo - 5
Vid - 5
Evra - 7
Fletch - 4
Carro - 5
Anderson - 6
Nani - 4
Ronnie - 7
Saha - 3

Giggs - 5
Tev - 6
Hargo - N/A

Claus Larsen - 5 - I didn't think he was that good and and made quite a few wrong calls for both sides.

Crowd: 5 - A bit subdued but you'd expect that. Got going a bit more in the 2nd half cos' of our more enterprising play.

Da Wunderkid - 7 - Got up and watched it on T'internet after watching Beckham star in the L.A. Galaxy's 5-3 friendly defeat to Sydney F.C. in Sydney, read details on the "United 2-1 Sporting" article.

csto1 (27/11/2007 at 22:49)

Anderson earnt only a 5? I would give him MOM due to his attacking play and bridging the gap between defence and attack. Who setup Hargreaves for his chance just after he came on? Oh yeah, Anderson! Who mimicked Scholesy's passing range with quality vision? The Brazilian again. No-one was perfect tonight, (remembering the overhit Anderson pass to Evra that went out for a throw in) but Anderson again received no praise from the pundits.

Steve, Glossop (27/11/2007 at 23:06)

Firstly Ronaldo & Tevez deserve our thanks superb & the free kick was brilliant & the celebration Cantonesque. O'Shea was crap as was Kitekat's distribution of the ball. Carrick was ok to be fair but Veloso looks a superior player though not for crazy money. Anderson perked up 2nd half cos of the subs IMO . Saha looked peed coming off but that's up to him cos he wasn't sharp.

Riquelminho (27/11/2007 at 23:10)

A bit harsh on some players IMO, but an average performance nevertheless. Saha never looked interested in the game, Nani tried to impress too much constantly gave the ball away. Fletcher and Carrick struggled to get a grip of the midfield, with Anderson the only one of the central midfielders worthy of praise. Although he wasn't on the ball as much as I would have liked, he looked dangerous whenever he was on the ball and constantly probed the Sporting defence. Very pleased with Tevez and Giggs who made an instant impact when they came on.

Overall, pleased with the result and ensures we will be going to Anfield plenty refreshed after the Roma trip. I have no more complaints- well done United.

Gerry, Glastonbury (27/11/2007 at 23:24)

Nice to see United finishing strongly again. A win is a win and after Bolton this'll do me!
Ronnie will take the plaudits and he did look dangerous but he shared MOM with Evra who in my opinion is a real classy footballer.
No one crosses a ball like the Nev - how we are missing that. O'Shea's final ball was c**p!
Our midfield was largely disapponting with Anderson and Carrick at best OK but little better than
the unfortunate Fletch who was ditched. Could have been anyone of three!!!
Saha clearly needs games and was a bit of a mixture tonight, whilst Tevez added zip but I still don't think it was his goal?
Giggs was poor apart from a couple of party pieces but the crowd of 75,000 for a dead rubber was utterly amazing.
Finally, I feel 'Kuzac' who was a shade unfortunate. He'll get the blame, but hay, if your honest he was unlucky.

Shaz Leicester (27/11/2007 at 23:48)

I hate to say this but Saha looks finished. That explosive first yard just did not exist tonight. Such as shame as I like the lad and last season he was different class. Ronnie's goal papered over a pretty dire performance. Sporting were much more composed showing good passing, technique and skill. Moutinho, Veluso and Leidson were excellent all night as were their back four. My ratings: KitKat 5, Ofshea 3, Rio 6, Vidic 6, Evra 8, Nani 6, Anderson 8, Fletcher 3, Carrick 2, Ronaldo 8, Saha 3 Subs: Tevez 8, Giggs 6, Hargreaves 6. To summarise Fletch, Carrick and Saha were pathetic as was the 4-5-1 rubbish formation in the first half. Tevez made such a difference after the break where Fletch & Carrick were playing so so slowly. At least our bench this year gives us options and players that can change a game. Can't wait for Wazza to return and the Ginger Prince and Nev too. What a free kick by Ronnie - I am sure most Reds were thinking that it would be hitting row Z. Now for the Dippers!!

TMUF, Manchester (28/11/2007 at 00:35)

Carrick a 5? Did you watch the game. His passing and tackling was VERY good. What a difference to the Bolton game!

TMUF, Manchester (28/11/2007 at 00:36)

And Anderson a 5 too? Who writes this garbage!

Jesse Cole (28/11/2007 at 00:42)

I thought Carrick played well tonight, looked fairly active in the first half and slotted comfortably into the middle in the second. His range of passing was much improved from the Bolton game, Anderson though was our Man of the Match. Equal in efficiency as Ronaldo was in flair and had a great time playing the aggressor to Carrick's deep midfield play. As with Giggs, who came on after Nani's shakey first half performance and put on a positive and solid display. Saha though was off form and looked it too, apart from a few moments of link up play with the team he was periodically anonymous throughout the game. The frequent injuries have really f*cked with his confidence and only time will tell if he regains the form we know he can produce.

Savant, Singapore (28/11/2007 at 03:03)

Thought the ratings seem a bit harsh. Though I agree that Saha was terrible tonight. I just hope it is because he is getting back to fitness which explains his lethargic performance.

Evra is certainly my favourite left back ever now. His runs and dribbles adds more attacking flair to the side. SAF really shd find a similar player in RB.

Thought Carrick's game was rather good in the second half. Tevez and Giggs's introductions plus whatever halftime talk was necessary. Rather than leave it till the 60th min against Bolton, SAF did the right decision in making changes immediately.

Iben Wong (28/11/2007 at 03:51)

For the most part I would agree except: Saha had some good flik headers and contributed to first goal - 5, Nani needed some support but got none from either Fletcher or Carrick. I would give hime a 5. Everything else ok. The team had little cohesion and no urgency....again!! Carrick is not up to it, period.....maybe because he hasn't played much but something needs to kick in for him. Fletcher - not worth the words to describe his "presence" on the pitch.Enough!!

i bleed Man United, Botswana (28/11/2007 at 05:32)

When I saw the team I thought Anderson would play off Saha but Sir Alex had other plans,thought it would be the perfect opportunity to play him upfront, nonetheless some of his distribution was excellent, the lob to Hargreaves reminded me of Scholes to Rooney against Milan .Disappointing from Nani, it's not his ability, which is there for all to see, but it's his decision making was very poor.I thought Fletcher actually wasn't bad,he ran about,few tackles,Carrick should've come off.Still think Saha's a waste.Inspired substitutions.Well done to Ronaldo,not his best game but showed he's a matchwinner.

KingCantona7, Ashton (28/11/2007 at 07:10)

Why the moaning about Carrick, I thought he had a really good game, kep the ball moving disrupted play and some decent searching balls. Apart from a couple of shots dont think Veloso got the better of him.

port augusta red, port augusta (28/11/2007 at 07:12)

Kuszczak: Found wanting when it mattered. Appeared to lack confidence in his own ability 5

O'Shea: Competent performance 6

Evra: Played is usual game. 7

Ferdinand: Coped quite easily with Sporting’s attack 6

Vidic: Competent performance 6

Fletcher: Gave the ball away far too often. 4

Carrick: Continues to under perform 4

Anderson: Performance improved in 2nd half 6

Nani: Poor performance 4

Ronaldo: Goal was worth the entrance fee 7

Saha: Dismal 3

Giggs: Team performance improved when he came on 6

Tevez: Tried hard and scored the goal that got United back in the game 7

Parker, Manchester (28/11/2007 at 08:12)

Everyone loves a trier like Tevez, but Saha looks cumbersome and unfit and incapable of any meaningful effort. SAF has given him plenty of opportunities and his patience must be wearing thin.

horace, Salford (28/11/2007 at 08:36)

Thought Fletcher and Nani very poor. I think if Fergie is bringing Veloso in then the godson will be allowed to leave. Maybe a swap with the Rangers right back he's supposed to be interested in. Looked better 2nd half.We need another front man cos Saha aint cutting the mustard. Still not sure about Kitkat in goal. Hope Foster comes back as good as last year.

edinburgh red, edinburgh (28/11/2007 at 09:00)

Anderson, carrick and fletcher were all awful and didn't impose themselves on the game, saha again looked well off the pace and his confidence looks shot, ronaldo was too greedy and finally o'shea was terrible though again he was out of position.

Dave (28/11/2007 at 09:50)

Strange tactics to begin with. Looked like a 4-5-1 which is not going to help a striker desperately lacking in confidence. I thought Saha was ok at times but really needs a goal. Hesitated a couple of times when the player of last season would have just pulled the trigger.

For the rest, well Fergie got his substitutions spot on - not often I've said that in the past. Nani was terrible - maybe a case of trying too hard against his old mates.

Rio had an ace game and Vidic was, well, Vidic !!

MoTM for me though was Tevez. I think he completely changed the game when he came on. He's just a great player and I cant wait for him and Rooney to team up again.

One final comment - I don't know how many of you were there but there's absolutely no way there was a crowd of 75,000+. This mandatory cup-ticket scheme is killing the atmosphere on European nights...

Birdy, Ireland (28/11/2007 at 09:55)

A poor display overall. I think Carrick's rating is harsh. I thought he played well first half at least. Tevez made a big difference when he came on. Saha was pants, but then he oftenis when he's on the comeback trail. Velosa looked ok but he didnt look a 20m player, at that sort of money i'd pass

george (28/11/2007 at 09:58)

The low marks are down to playing 4-3-3 first half.
I've got more confidence in Kuszcak than some but the Sporting goal was a school boy error.He'll just have to learn from that and put it down to experience.He seemed to feel uneasy for ten minutes but didn't get destroyed like Carson.
Once UNITED switched to 4-4-2 they were in total control.JOS deserved 6.It was the lack of numbers in midfield which left him exposed.Saha didn't look sharp.He's always recovering from injury.Perhaps it was that.The fact UNITED have won 5 from 5 suggests they can win the CL.Wengers says 10 clubs could win it. UNITED look strong.

Mick, Dublin (28/11/2007 at 10:28)

Carricka nd Anderson both deserve higher ratings. The whole team was sloppy in the first-half but these two, post-hairdryer, caused Lisbon all sorts of problems and bossed midfield for the entire second-half.

Tevez, Evra and Ronaldo were all superb. Tevez probably looked the most impressive but this was mainly due to him not getting sucked into the first-half nightmare.

Saha is a worry. Last season he was world-class but he looks to have lost a yard or two of pace and clearly has no confidence. Fingers crossed it's just a lack of match fitness because the part he played in our first goal against Arsenal and some of the flick-ons he won, towards the end of the game last night, show that he can still be a real handful for defenders.

O'Shea was very poor and

bobbydazzler (28/11/2007 at 10:43)

nani the sporting full back had him in his pocket all the half he constantly showed him the line. but he knew nani wouldny bite as he never evr tried to go outside on the right. the lad will just not use his left foot at all.

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