Player Ratings: Fulham 1-3 Manchester United – Rooney rules the roost again

 

David de Gea 7: Made two crucial saves to prevent United conceding in the first half and the Spaniard was a calming influence between the sticks in the second half.

Rafael 6: Made only his third league start of the season and looked comfortable when on the pitch and linked well with Valencia. Sustained a nasty injury in the first half and didn’t come back out after half time.

Jonny Evans 6: Didn’t have a great deal of work to do defensively and rarely looked anything but assured with Vidic marshalling Berbatov. The Irishman looked tidy in possession and was solid in the air before being withdrawn at the interval due to injury.


Nemanja Vidic 7: At times in the first half, United’s skipper looked sluggish on the turn but Vidic recovered well and performed admirably as Fulham pushed United deeper. Made one fabulous headed interception to deny Berbatov in the second half and imperious in the air.

Patrice Evra 7: Bombed forward happily throughout and was probably United’s best player offensively in the second half despite his crossing sometimes being rather erratic. Defensively, the Frenchman was relatively untroubled.

Antonio Valencia 7: Found the net for the second time this season and seemed to be full of confidence. Played at right back in the second half and while defensively he left a little to be desired, he attacked intelligently.

Phil Jones 8: Was the physical presence United often lack in the centre of the pitch and won the most tackles on the pitch as well as being surprisingly neat if a little unadventurous in possession. Provided a combative edge in midfield.

Tom Cleverley 6: Covered Evra’s forward runs well and like Jones was accurate in his passing. Cleverley’s appreciation for possession should be applauded but many would still like to see him take more risks and grab the game by the scruff of the neck. Withdrawn after 45 minutes due to injury.

Adnan Januzaj 7: Supplied a wonderfully weighted pass for Van Persie’s strike and tested Steklenburg with a low shot. His dribbling was joyful although he was frequently rough-housed in possession and disgustingly stamped on late in the game.

Wayne Rooney 8: His composure and vision in front of goal created United’s first and he finished off van Persie’s pass well for his seventh of the season. Dropped deeper in the second half and put a reasonable shift in as United saw the game out.

Robin van Persie 7: Impressed in the first half as he scored one as well as creating another and appeared to be back to full sharpness. Was isolated up top in the second half and the good service afforded to him by Rooney and co. in the first half deserted him somewhat.

Substitutes
Marouane Fellaini 5: Sat alongside Jones in midfield and might have scored at the back post from a Rooney in-swinger. Looked extremely laboured, rarely accelerating past a brisk walk, and was rather sloppy in possession. Sluggish.

Shinji Kagawa 6: Again struggled to influence the game from the left hand side and his drifting in-field causes United all sort of problems with team shape. The playmaker did muck in well defensively and linked reasonably well with the adventurous Evra.

Chris Smalling 6: Read the game well and although his passing was a little hit and miss, he went about his defensive duties with minimal fuss and made one well-timed tackle against Scott Parker in the box.