Given A great save from Darren Fletcher but he might just have done better with the first goal. And the third came from his failing to win the ball when coming out of goal. 6
Richards Another good performance from Micah, whose return to form has been very welcome. He dealt much better with Ryan Giggs than he ever has done before, and did well carrying the ball from the back. Almost scored a great goal with a left foot I never knew he had. 7
Kompany For 91 minutes he was immaculate - cutting off almost everything and throwing himself into blocks. Let Rooney escape in stoppage time, though, which must have been as upsetting for him as it was for us. 7
Boyata It's testament to his maturity that Mancini trusted him ahead of Onuoha for the game. He did well again - composed and confident. 7
Garrido Never looked comfortable with the skill and movement of Nani, and was withdrawn after an hour. Is the Garrido Renaissance coming to an end? 5
Zabaleta He lives for the battle and he fought hard on the pitch. Tried his best to get Wayne Rooney sent off in the first half, unsuccessfully, and after that put in a number of strong tackles across the pitch. Moved to left back for the last half hour. 6
de Jong Tackled hard, as ever, but could not stem the tide when Fletcher and Scholes really started playing in the second half. Passing not always perfect - gave away the ball in the run-up to the second goal. 6
Barry Still looks like he needs a rest, which limited his attacking potential, but was still largely effective in putting out fires in our half. 6
SWP A few good moments, bursting past players, but could never quite find enough space for a good final ball. Took a bit of a kicking, as he always does against United. 6
Tévez He had to score, and he did - with a remarkable finish that would have got a lot more attention if the last fifteen minutes had happened differently. He worked hard all evening, giving Rio Ferdinand a difficult time, although not everything came off before the goal. 7
Bellamy Another one who lives for these big games, he was a constant menace - he clearly enjoys playing against Rafael - getting into good positions and crossing for Tévez's goal. Did well to play on after getting coined in the second half. 7
Subs:
Ireland Found some space and played some nice passes. I'd love him to start on Sunday. 6
Adebayor Ran hard when he came on. n/a
7 comments:
Very good assessment. Other than Tevez's goals and the team's unity and purpose, the best thing to come out of these two games has been the partnership between Kompany and Boyata. I can't see how Toure and Lescott can get back in the side.
It's all about an all-Belgian centre back pairing wih multiples of eleven as squad numbers.
I was thinking just that myself.
Belgium have an embarrassment of riches at centre half with those two, Vermaelen and Van Buyten.
Apart from Fellaini though, there's little else in the squad.
Aren't you forgetting a certain City legend? Saved us from relegation in 2006/07?
It is imperative we sign an attacking central midfielder now that Roninho is out on loan.
An creative central midfielder should have been a priority last summer, regardless of how brilliant Ireland had played. I'm sure Mancini can see it.
@trinder
I'm in full agreement. One of Ireland's biggest assetts is his off the ball movement. He excells at making clever runs into the box and making quick one touch passess in tight spaces. In short he would be the biggest beneficiary of a creative attacking midfielder.
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