Basel v Manchester United; Player Ratings

Manchester United

Blind was constantly tested on the wing

Sergio Romero – 7

For the first half Romero had almost nothing to do. However, in the second half the Argentinian had to make a number of good saves. Unfortunately, he could do nothing about Basel’s winner as Lang scored into an open goal.

Matteo Darmian – 4

When the Red Devils were in control of the first half, the full-back put in some woeful crosses and struggled to make an impact. Then in the second half, Darmian got even worse. Basel began to target his side, he was booked late on, and the assist for the goal came down his side. It was not a good night for the Italian.

Chris Smalling – 7

Smalling put in a strong performance on Saturday evening against Newcastle and continued that form tonight with a strong defensive display alongside Rojo, where he also passed the ball out from the back well.

Marcos Rojo – 7

On his first game back from injury the Argentinian was solid and nearly got himself a goal as his long-range shot was deflected onto the crossbar. United did eventually concede late on but for the most part, he deserved a clean sheet in defence.

Daley Blind – 6

Blind was strong defensively but did not offer a whole lot going forward.

Ander Herrera – 6

Herrera played well in the first half and helped dictate play with Pogba. However, in the second half the match seemed to bypass him and he found it hard to deal with Die for Basel in central midfield.

Marouane Fellaini – 6

Fellaini proved to be United’s biggest threat early on in the game and had a header cleared off the line before he sent another one wide. But he really faded as the game dragged on, and didn’t help his team-mates as they tried to control the ball in midfield.

Jesse Lingard – 5

The Englishman did not get involved as much as he would have liked and failed to take the opportunity given to him to start in a Champions League tie.

Paul Pogba – 6

Playing in a higher role than usual, Pogba started brightly, but faded as the game developed. He was eventually substituted for Matic as United tried to take control in midfield.

Anthony Martial – 7

Martial was unfortunately denied the opening goal after a great individual run when Vlacik saved his chip in a one on one. He continued to show some brilliant feet from then on until he was eventually substituted for Ibrahimovic.

Romelu Lukaku – 6

The Belgian missed an early one on one and it would eventually come back to haunt him as his United team were defeated away in Switzerland. The striker has now scored just one goal in his last eight games for the Red Devils.

Substitutes:

Marcus Rashford – 6

Rashford tried to be bright after his introduction just after the hour mark. But he found it tough to get going as Basel defended strongly.

Nemanja Matic – 5

Matic came on to try and get a hold of the ball in midfield, but the Serbian found it difficult and could not get going.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 6

Ibrahimovic was introduced with just 16 minutes to play and saw very little of the ball. He linked up with Lukaku on a couple of occasions. But with United being on the back foot, it was hard for him to get involved.