It was the sort of match we expected. The naming of Phil Jones in the squad gave a message to Madrid: Defence comes first. and United for the most part defended very well. Madrid were reduced to mainly shots from distance as United defended for their lives. They were determined to sit deep and maintain their concentration. This had the effect of inviting Madrid on to them and this proved not to be too dangerous. At 1-1 it sets up an interesting return tie at Old Trafford. United need a win or a 0-0 draw to progress, whilst Madrid need a win or a 2-2 draw. The score remaining goalless seems unlikely so this result essentially means United to pull a win out of the bag. Both teams may look back and regret their missed chances.
Home advantage is in the Red Devil’s favour whilst there is renewed belief in the defensive prowess at United.
Home advantage is in the Red Devil’s favour whilst there is renewed belief in the defensive prowess at United.
So the result will leave no team truly satisfied as neither has gained much of an advantage in the match. However United have avoided the danger of the Bernabeu which is a positive at least. On balance if one team has the advantage it is United but it is a rather small one. Whoever comes through this test will feel they can go far in this competition.
A much anticipated match that actually managed to deliver a good game of football. Although the game was dominated by the Spanish team, United were in it from the first minute and had many chances to score, including poor misses from Van Persie and Giggs. However, the game ended 1-1 with Welbeck scoring a towering header only to see Ronaldo best him with an even better header ten minutes later. It was very much reminiscent of his goal for United in the Champions League Final against Chelsea; he times his leaps with such perfection it appears effortless, and his headers are so perfectly timed, whilst the crosses were both of up most quality too.
No doubt United will be shattered as they spent much of the game chasing tails, but they managed an away goal and to limit Madrid to one goal. If we are able to turn it on a bit more, as we showed we could in patches of this game, we could very realistically get through to the next round with a victory (or 0-0) in the home leg.
Ratings below:
De Gea – 8.5 (Matt) – 9 (Oli) Man of the Match
A performance to silence all of the doubters. It is one that is deserved after continuous improvement throughout the season. De Gea started the match with a world class save to touch a sure goal on to the post and never looked back. He was peppered with shots from range all night and dealt with all of them comfortably. He had no chance for Ronaldo’s header.= and everything he had a chance of claiming he did so.
Without doubt this was De Gea’s best game for United yet. Save after save he produced, and some of them actually were of world-class quality. The most notable, which I foolishly dismissed as Neville’s poor eyesight, kept Coentrao at bay in the first half with the faintest of touches. He was alert and made some super stops throughout. Admittedly, he flapped at a cross or two, but what would a De Gea performance be without that? No chance with Ronaldo’s goal.
Rafael – 6.5 (Matt) – 4 .5(Oli)
Rafael stated midweek he could stop Ronaldo and with a LOT of help he kept him quiet. The first half was a scrappy affair where he looked over eager and went to ground too easily. He was consequently beaten three times in quick succession and he received a booking to show for it. He should have got closer to Di Maria in the lead up to the goal. The Madrid man was given too much time to whip a cross in. That being said this is against Ronaldo and Real Madrid. He came out at half time on a yellow card and did his job very well.
He was given a near impossible task, and he wasn’t capable of doing it. Ronaldo and Ozil ran rings around him and Madrid’s main threat came from Rafael’s wing. It was not for want of trying, but he just can’t handle two of the best players in the world, simple as.
Ferdinand – 7 (Matt) – 5.5 (Oli)
No surprise to see the centre backs rated highly in what was a very defensive performance. He threw his body on the line to close down Madrid again and again. Madrid were reduced to long-range efforts which gave De Gea a chance of saving it.
A fairly solid match marred by some very uncharacteristic carelessness on the ball that could so easily have cost us the game. Madrid were frequently allowed a lot of space in the middle of the park.
Evans – 7.5 (Matt) – 6 (Oli)
Another fine performance from the young Irishman. He was a rock at the back, covering runs and dominating in the air. He didn’t seem to mind the choice of Ferdinand over Vidic as his defensive partner. He plays well with both and they will likely rotate for the remainder of the season.
Preferred to Vidic but I am not sure that was the right decision. Evans played below his recent standards and looked nervous throughout, epitomised by an unchallenged header that he felt compelled to head behind for a goal kick.
Evra – 7 (Matt) – 5 (Oli)
He was particularly impressive in covering the runs of Di Maria. He stuck to the danger man and largely nullified him. He was much better positioned than Rafael and managed to provide more of a forward threat as well. He was a good outlet throughout the match and was brought down whilst through on goal. How this was not given as a Red card is simply outstanding. It was a clear foul and the Referee had a great view. He was out jumped by Ronaldo for the Madrid goal but there was little he could do whilst left isolated with the Madrid player after such a good ball.
Regularly caught out of position and slipped to allow Ronaldo to jump and head a beautiful shot into the far corner of the net. Made a great run and was then hauled to the ground by Varane, which in any sensible person’s book should result in a red card.
Jones – 6.5 (Matt) – 7.5 (Oli)
Given perhaps too much credit for what was a team effort in keeping Madrid out. He wasn’t good enough on the ball to be much help going forward which caused a lot of difficulty with the ball. He produced a challenge which could have on another day been given as a soft penalty. He produced a few telling interceptions and covered for Rafael which justified his selection.
Wow. The whole team owes a lot to their keeper and to Phil Jones for tonight’s result. Jones’ covering was superb, and he actually showed he has incredible pace when he needs to. I am not sure where his future lies (in terms of positioning, he’s definitely staying at United), but he’s damn good.
Carrick 7 (Matt) - 6 (Oli)
He provided a brilliant shield to the defence with his positioning and interceptions. Perhaps not as positive with the ball as he would have liked but a lot of United’s good things came through him.
Carrick tends to remain quiet when we have very little of the ball, as was the case tonight. Unable to do a job anywhere near as effectively as Jones as Khedeira and Alonso dominated possession.
Kagawa – 6 (Matt) - 7 (Oli)
He played his customary 60 minutes (has he ever played more?) and phased in and out of the game. He supported Van Persie well early on and looked to run past him a good amount. He unfortunately didn’t produce as much as he’d have liked. Big performances are there to be produced. He just needs o up his game.
I actually thought Kagawa looked very bright in the first half, certainly he was the player that was making the best runs and getting in the most advanced positions. As a result, I was quite surprised to see him subbed off for Giggs. Won the corner (although it turned out to be an incorrect call) that Welbeck scored from.
Welbeck – 8 (Matt) – 7.5 (Oli)
I’m the first to have a go at Welbeck for his lack of performances but he was the pick of the outfield players tonight. He for once utilised his pace well and he passed effectively. He produced one of his few goals on the big stage and generally carried the ball well. He ran through the Madrid defence but was unable to finish his fine run.
Probably Welbeck’s best United game when he’s played as a winger. It clearly isn’t his best position, but he made it work tonight, scoring a great header and running his socks off to keep United moving.
Rooney – 5.5 (Matt) – 6.5 (Oli)
He lost his man at the back post to allow Madrid’s best chance of the second half, forcing De Gea to save unconventionally well with his legs. He did a shift defensively but his passing wasn’t at his usual standard before he was subbed.
It definitely wasn’t Rooney’s day today, with much of his passing going astray and he was unable to get in the game. Despite providing the corner that Welbeck scored from, I think he was justifiably subbed off for Anderson late on.
Van Persie - 6.5 (Matt) – 5.5 (Oli)
Despite being largely isolated he crafted three good chances for himself and otherwise held up the play well. He produced two canons from wide positions which forced good saves out of the Madrid number two. He also went through on goal and managed to lift the ball over the keeper only for Alonso to clear off the line.
If it wasn’t Rooney’s day, Van Persie had a shocker. Uninvolved in the first half, our top scorer couldn’t get himself in the game either until late on, where he spurned a glorious chance to win it as his miscued his volley. Did have a brilliant volley saved at the far stretch by Lopez though.
Subs:
Giggs – 6.5 (Matt) – 5 (Oli)
He produced a few sharp tackles and carried the ball out of defence well. He had a chance to put the ball in the net and attempted to beat the closing defender rather than shooting. Oh what could have been!
Looked very unaware of what was going on around him, and despite a great piece of defensive work which had the commentators in awe, he also missed a superb chance to win it when he inexplicably took a poor touch instead of shooting first time to finish it.
Valencia -5.5 (Matt) - 5 (Oli) Flop of the Match
It’s no longer a surprise he contributed very little….
I can’t remember Valencia doing anything except a terrible touch that gifted Madrid a throw in. (Note:In Matt’s opinion that was because of Jones’ nightmare pass)
Anderson – N/A (Oli)
Lost the ball in a key position it was lucky Madrid didn’t score from. Then fell over. Bizarrely preferred to Cleverly and showed no indication as to why.
One poor touch and one very good one that helped to set up Van Persie for his late volley was all Ando could manage after only playing the last 5 minutes of a match that Madrid ended very much on the front foot.
This is bollocks!