Given The greatest penalty hero away in Denmark since...Joe Hart six months ago. Very good performance though, commanding the box, making the right decisions and pulling off a few decent saves. Could not have done much for either goal. And then two great saves in the shoot out. 8
Richards Generally solid but could be blamed for both goals: Shelton shrugged him off for the first, the cross which Evans handballed came right past him. Going forward he made some great runs, but he really needs work on his crossing. 5
Dunne Allowing the team to capitulate like that is a real failure of captaincy. Defensively he had a good game, winning most in the air and being strong in the tackle. Took a decent penalty too. 6
Onuoha Another good performance from our most improved player of 2009. Dealt well with everything Aalborg threw at us, and although we were finally breached (twice) neither goal was his fault. 7
Bridge A good performance - solid at the back and incisive going forward - made to look much better by Garrido's disastrous show. That's why you spend £10million on a left back. 7
Zabaleta One of his less impressive performances. We needed him (and Kompany) to repel the Aalborg attacks in the second half and he simply failed to do so. He could only chase the game - a bit too Gelson Fernandes really. 4
Kompany Never looked fully fit. His tackling was clumsy and his passing not what we're used to. Still, he gave 100% and was a useful physical presence until he tired. Criticism of Zabaleta applies to him too though. 6
SWP Only in the game in patches - a few good moments but nowhere near as influential as he was in the first leg. Took his penalty well. 5
Ireland Best player in the first half, darting around with the imagination we've grown used to. Visibly tired as the game progressed - if only we didn't have to play him twice a week. 6
Robinho Another below par performance. Never really got involved with the game - had a decent chance in the first half and hit the bar late on. But this was the sort of game in which a moment of brilliance could have won it for us. And he's not really in the team for his work rate. 5
Evans He was always going to work hard but we got two hours of effort and application and then a great penalty. Doesn't have the nous of Bellamy up front - only got one decent chance and he fluffed it, but still a lot to be proud about. 6
Subs
Garrido Pretty terrible. Should have conceded a penalty, repeatedly beaten by their right winger. A shame because I am a fan of his. 3
Caicedo Worked hard with little to show for it. 5
Elano Another quality penalty. n/a
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4 comments:
Don't agree with Zabaleta's rating thought he was much better than you say. I don't think Evans had anything to be proud about he did nothing in the game. Shame about Bridge having to go off, he has just started to come good. Garrido didn't look to clever, but saying that he looked like a player who has not played for a while thats all.
I don't think Garrido should have conceded a penalty, he got a small touch on the ball before he touched the man. Remember when everyone said we shouldn't have got a penalty at St James for that tackle on Robinho, same thing.
Yeah Pablo seemed to be getting some praise on the forums too but I really didn't see it from him today. I'm a huge fan of his but thought he was a bit off the pace. Oh well - massive game on Sunday now!
Garrido is a liability at left back, always has been imho
ive already said it elsewhere on the blog, but I agree overZabaleta. I've given up on most forums now. If Vassell puts in a lot of hard yards, he still gets slated, but when Zabaleta does exactly the same, many times disrupting our own defence, people are quick to overlook the fact that he had a very poor game by his high and still improving standards! I agree with GaryNolan in thinking Garrido touched the ball, but it was an unnecessary lunge and almosr deserved a penalty for the sheer lack of sense. All is forgiven Wayne, come back soon! (apologies for spelling etc, i cant believe how hard it is to change things from an iphone!)
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