Man United player ratings: Herrera excellent...
- Post Match
- May 25, 2017
- 4 min read
It was a professional and cautious display, just what Mourinho is good at. With the serial winner having made the Europa League the main business this season, he had a wonderful work-plan to ensure success.
And boy! He did. Just as in his two previous Champions League wins, Mourinho walked away with yet another clean-sheet.
Having chosen the freshest players available, we assess how each of them fared in another wonderful European night to remember.
1. Sergio Romero (8)
Largely untested the keeper casually chewed on his gum while his back-line dealt with everything Ajax forwards had to offer. On the odd occasion he was called to action, he comfortably dealt with any danger posed. That was his 12th cleansheet in 18 games this season and he has only conceded 6 goals.
2. Antonio Valencia (8)
The captain for the night was again very impressive, combining with Mata on the right flank and bombing forward at any opportunity, he offered some outlet in our wing-play. He did well to deal with the pace and trickery of Youanes. He could easily have been man of the match.
3. Chris Smalling (8)
It's safe to say, Smalling played like a new signing yesterday. Having surprised many by starting ahead of Phil Jones, the defender was a dominant force at the heart of defence illustrated by his 100% aerial duels won- more than any other player on the pitch. He vitally also grabbed an assist for Henrikh mkhitaryan's goal.
4. Daley Blind (7.5)
The former Ajax man never put his foot wrong all night. Expressing defensive discipline, he made sure he never went past the half-way line and consequently dealt with any Ajax attempted counter-attacks. He repeatedly sliced diagonal balls forward trying to release Rashford from distance.
5. Matteo Darmian (7.5)
The Italian was another Man of the Match contender, largely quiet, he did his job diligently dealing with Traore and even when he was beaten, he showed great character to recover as shown by his last ditch tackle on Traore. With Shaw and Rojo missing, Darmian showed you don't have to be left-footed to nail down that position.
6. Ander Herrera (9)
Voted the official UEFA Man of the Match, the Player of the Year again rose on the big stage as he has done so often this season and rarely put a foot wrong. Winning back possession and spraying passes around to always keep United on the front foot. An accomplished performance that was effective in settling the midfield battle, he even managed to finish without a booking.
7. Marouane Fellaini (8)
Not the most beautiful player to watch, but did the job assigned to him expertly, winning all long balls aimed at him and keeping possession, the Belgian showed his importance again. He was even heavily involved with the opening goal supplying an assist to Paul Pogba. Booked in the second half, he kept his composure to see out the game successfully.
8. Paul Pogba (7.5)
The world's most expensive player again bossed the midfield just as he had done two weeks ago aagainst Celta Vigo and combining with the forwards, it was no surprise to see him score the opening goal albeit via a heavy deflection. He could have also scored again but was sent tumbling down in the penalty area by Ajax defender Sanchez. With his full-time celebrations justified after unfair criticism all season, the future is brighter.
9. Juan Mata (7)
With the boss choosing him over Lingard, Mata was impressive on the right trying to find spaces and releasing his fellow forwards at every break. His tracking back to help Valencia also ensured Ajax forwards were starved off service. Having not scored since the earlier rounds, yesterday was still a good day at the office for the little man.
10. Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7.5)
This was another possible Man of the Match despite struggling severely in the first half. He acquired an early booking and many would have thought he would be replaced during the break, but the boss kept faith in him and it only took 3 minutes of the restart to find the back of the net, and it was expertly done. With 6 goals in 11 matches in the competition, he became the first ever United player to score 5 away goals in a single campaign.
11. Marcus Rashford (7.5)
Working his socks off, the youngster repeatedly threatenend and stretched the Ajax backline and despite being tightly marked he was able to make good use of the ball whenever he got it. Replaced late on by Anthony Martial, his work might have already been done when he struck against Celta Vigo in the semifinals.
Subs:
1. Anthony Martial (6)
Replacing Rashford, very late on, he didn't get enough time to influence the game but was willing to punish Ajax more even releasing Lingard through on goal which the Englishman failed to capitalie.
2. Jesse Lingard (6)
A replacement for goalscorer Mkhitaryan, he came on for defensive duties but should have really killed the game when through on goal. He didn't feature for long enough to influence the game.
3. Wayne Rooney (5)
Another late replacement for Juan Mata, the captain came on for the final minutes of the game and had a defensive sliding tackle applauded by the fans. Whether that was the last time we saw him in a United shirt remains to be seen but going with the manager's words at the post match conference, the captain appears set to stay and fight for his place.
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