Manchester United finally lifted themselves off 6th place in the table – with a 3-1 win away to Middlesbrough at the Riverside stadium. The game was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests, with United thankful for a late goal by Antonio Valencia in injury time that added gloss to the scoreline.
Marouane Fellaini started things off with a well taken header in the 30th minute, with Jesse Lingard hammering a 2nd in the 60th minute. Rudy Gestede’s 77th minute goal set the cat amongst the pigeons, before a Victor Valdez howler allowed Valencia to round things off.
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Here’s how the players rated:
Middlesbrough
Victor Valdes – 6.5/10
The Spaniard was keen on reminding his former club of his talents, and began the game in great fashion, denying Rashford from a one-on-one. Valdes continued to keep his side in the game, denying Rashford and Valencia in the first half alone, but could do nothing for two of the first goals United scored. As is characteristic of the life of a goalkeeper, Valdes then had an absolute howler in injury time, gifting a goal to Antonio Valencia.
Antonio Barragan – 5/10
The Boro right-back struggled to keep Ashley Young quiet for most of the game, allowing the United fullback to run past him multiple times, and also got his positioning wrong for the opening goal, allowing Young time and space to cross the ball.
Bernardo Espinosa – 4/10
Espinosa was a doubt before the game, and looked woefully off the pace when up against Marcus Rashford, being second-best for much of the game. His frustrations earned him a booking in the second half, while also being at fault for turning his back when Lingard struck from range to score the second goal.
Ben Gibson – 6/10
Middlesbrough had the 4th best defence in the Premier League prior to this game, and a large part of that was Ben Gibson. The English centre-back showed exactly why a large number of clubs are after him, making some crucial interceptions to thwart dangerous situations, only to be let down by his fellow defenders.
Fabio – 5.5/10
The ex-Manchester United fullback looked heavily motivated to perform against his former side – which worked against him. Fabio was full of running through out the game, snuffing out danger well, but made a mess of multiple promising situations with some very poor crossing.
Grant Leadbitter – 5/10
The Boro midfielder looked a bit lost in midfield, often losing track of Fellaini as the Belgian made his forays forward. He picked up a deserved booking and looked a bit of a liability in midfield, resulting in his substitution in the second half.
Marten de Roon – 6/10
De Roon provided plenty of energy in the Boro midfield, as he roamed all over the pitch. He was a bit poor with his crossing in the first half, but looked much more composed in the second half. The Dutchman made a crucial contribution to Boro’s opening goal, winning a header that fell into Gestede’s path.
Adam Clayton – 5/10
Clayton looked neat enough in midfield, but struggled to affect the game as Boro sat deep in the middle of the park.
Stewart Downing – 5/10
The English winger found himself in good positions throughout the game, but was uncharacteristically poor in his crossing. He did deliver the inital ball into the box for Boro’s opening goal, though.
Gaston Ramirez – 7/10
The Uruguayan was Boro’s best player, drawing a great save from David de Gea when the game was goalless. He made a mug of Eric Bailly on the wing multiple times, only to miss out on the final ball to Negredo. Surprisingly, he was hauled off by his manager in the second half.
Alvaro Negredo – 6.5/10
Negredo battled manfully in the first half, but struggled due to the lack of service. Once Gested came on to offer him some support up-front, Negredo was much more threatening, going close with a glancing header, while also troubling Smalling on the edge of the box.
Substitutes
Rudy Gestede (68’) – 7/10
The Benin striker came on to great effect, immediately offering a greater attacking impetus with some physical play. He took advantage of Smalling’s mistake and kept calm to offer Boro some hope with a well taken finish.
Adama Traore (68’) – 6/10
Adama Traore was full of running, but lacked end product – pretty much the story of his career.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 6.5/10
Usually Manchester United’s saving grace, David de Gea didn’t have much to do in this game. He made an important save from Ramirez when the game was scoreless, and was rarely called upon. He couldn’t do much to prevent Gestede’s goal, which was a minor blemish on a flawless game.
Chris Smalling – 5.5/10
The weak link in United’s defence, Smalling struggled quite a bit against Negredo. He was at fault for Boro’s goal, with a poor clearance – a culmination of an error-strewn performance, which included a clumsy attempt to head the ball back to De Gea that will be replayed for years to come alongside Phil Jones’ iconic headed clearance.
Phil Jones – 7/10
The English centre-back held things together for United, covering for the errors of his teammates multiple times. Jones prevented Negredo from getting on the scoresheet and equalizing for Boro with a great diving tackle in the box, a moment that could have changed the narrative of the game.
Eric Bailly – 5/10
Gaston Ramirez made mincemeat of Bailly in the first half, as the Ivorian struggled at right-back. This necessitated a tactical rethink by Jose Mourinho, who instructed Antonio Valencia to drop back and help Bailly out. The Ivorian was involved in a heated exchange during and after the game – not his best 90 minutes in a Red Devils jersey.
Antonio Valencia – 7.5/10
The Ecuadorian took full advantage of being let loose on the wings in the first half, and was arguably United’s best outlet, drawing a great save from Valdes at his near post. He defended superbly in the second half, and got his reward thanks to Valdes’ howler – a situation that would not have arisen had Valencia not pressed him down after running the entire length of the pitch.
Michael Carrick – 6/10
Arguably the most important player in Manchester United’s squad, Carrick held things together in midfield, despite being left all alone when Fellaini made his forays up the pitch. He focussed a bit more on the defensive side of things in this game, and made some intelligent interceptions in the second half as Boro upped the pressure.
Marouane Fellaini – 7/10
The Belgian had an error-strewn performance right until he scored the opener for United with an extremely well placed header. He improved massively after that moment, dominating things in midfield, although he was a bit erratic positionally.
Ashley Young – 7/10
Young was instrumental to United’s attacking play in the first half as he made merry down the left wing. He supplied a beautiful cross to the far post for Fellaini’s opener, and followed that up with constant support down the left. He was a bit quiet in the second half, but remained defensively solid.
Juan Mata – 6.5/10
The Spaniard dictated United’s attacks at the start of game, and ought to really have had an assist when he supplied Rashford with a perfect low cross into the box. Mata’s free role meant that he troubled Boro’s midfielders, often drawing them out of position and creating space for his teammates.
Marcus Rashford – 6/10
Another day, and Marcus Rashford could have easily walked away with a hat-trick and a rating of 9. As it was, the United youngster ensured that Boro remained in the game, spurning two gilt-edged chances within 20 minutes, although he did trouble the Boro defence with his incessant running.
Jesse Lingard – 7/10
Lingard took advantage of the space in midfield that was opened up by Mata, threading two through balls to Rashford in the first half, but made some poor decisions in promosing positions. All that was forgotten when Lingard hammered an absolute thunderbolt to double United’s lead and make the game relatively safe.
Substitutes
Marcos Rojo (69’) – 6/10
He was brought on to add much needed steel to the United defence and fulfilled his manager’s wishes. The Argentinian made a couple of important interceptions as United saw the game out.
Anthony Martial (80’) – N/A
The Frenchman did not spend enough time on the pitch to affect the game in a meaningful manner.
Matteo Darmian (90+4’) – N/A
The Italian was brought on to run the clock down, and did his job.
