Player Ratings: Crystal Palace vs Manchester United

Crystal Palace vs Manchester United 0-2 | Player Ratings

David De Gea: 7

A nominee for our Man of the Match. It was a vintage performance from De Gea keeping us in the game with pivotal saves. A deserved clean sheet for Spanish Dave.

Defence

Aaron Wan-Bissaka: 5

A poor game from Wan Bissaka to be frank. He didn’t look good both defensively or going forward. His attacking consisted of blasting crosses into the first man and he was out of position a lot when called to defend. He’s looking increasingly shaky, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt probably lost in the occasion of returning to his former side.

Victor Lindelof: 5.5

Perhaps not as bad as his Right Back but he didn’t provide any security alongside him. He looked weak, once again and was bullied at times by Ayew. VAR saved him from what would have been a disaster class as he clattered into Zaha in the box. A definite penalty for some but not Graham Scott on the field.

Harry Maguire: 6.5

A more assured performance at the back from our captain. Although defensively at times he was suspect, allowing Zaha to get in behind with his trickery, he looked decent. Offensively he’s always a threat and was unlucky not to have a couple of goals.

Timothy Fosu-Mensah: 5.5

A surprise inclusion for many, Fosu Mensah started his first game for Manchester United for over 3 years. Whether it’s injuries or loan spells, he hasn’t featured for United since Josh Harrop day, against Palace… He looked like a man who hasn’t played in a while, choosing to be safe rather than risk and go forward. Some of his passing led to increased pressure on our own back line. Defensively he didn’t really do much either. I’m not sure he took his chance tonight.

Midfield

Scott McTominay: 5

Scott McTominay was a shell of his former self tonight. He didn’t look comfortable on the small pitch. He was for me the major reason why we didn’t get from defence to attack quick enough. Nemanja Matic came on for him and it was Jekyll and Hyde. Perhaps our poorest performer.

Paul Pogba: 6.5

Pogba suffered as a result of the lack of quality possession provided by McTominay. I felt he didn’t trust McTominay to keep the team stable while he went forward. His performance improved drastically as Mari provided security.

Bruno Fernandes: 6.5

Fernandes strikes me as a player who plays the game like he’s in the park with his friends. While it’s a good thing, allowing him to play with expression, but he plays a lot of Hollywood passes. He gave the ball away a lot but still managed to get an assist so there’s a positive.

Attack

Mason Greenwood: 5.5

Greenwood wasn’t at his scintillating best tonight. His touches were heavy and he still seemed to be suffering from the ankle injury that made him a doubt for tonight. Not his best day at the office, a performance to be a expected from an 18 year old.

Marcus Rashford: 8.5

Alongside Martial he was our best player. As the rest of the team were dithering on the ball he didn’t get a lot of possession. But when he did he was a threat with his directness. His quality was on show for his goal to open the game up, he repeated his skill and endeavour to create the second.

Anthony Martial: 8.5

Anthony Martial has evolved into what we all wanted him to be, a player that is taking games by the scruff of the neck. His close control dribbling is a problem for any defender in the world as it was for the Palace defence. His goal was a signature Martial finish. Superb!

Substitutes

Nemanja Matic: 7.5

As I said before, he provided an assurance to our performance that we lacked with McTominay. He dictated play allowing the likes of Pogba and Fernandes to go forward and create play.

Jesse Lingard: 6.5

He came on and used his energy to keep the ball ticking for United. Good cameo.