Player Ratings- Scunthorpe
Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:28 amTaylor 7- Considering it was his first competitive game in ages, he did pretty well. Kicking wasn't brilliant but he made some decent saves, particularly from distance in the second half. We all know he's no Shay but he's a decent backup.
Onuoha 7- Solid enough defensively- their left winger was well up for the occasion and looked menacing so it wasn't a walk in the park. His distribution wasn't great but he did make a number of good runs forward. The goal was well taken and well worked but even before it he got into that kind of position from a reverse pass from Petrov. Good stuff.
Boyata 8- Outstanding. He looks like a seasoned pro in our side at the minute- excellent against Boro, solid enough against the rags and today was the pick of the bunch. He was good on the ball, towering in the air, strong in the tackle, read their play superbly. Their second goal was unfortunate and to blame Dedryck for it would be extremely harsh I think. Lest we forget he's 19.
Kompany 8- I'd say over the course of the season he's been our most consistent defender. Touré has been poor, Lescott was struggling to settle and then obviously injured, the full backs need no explanation. He's the one guy who's played at a good level throughout in my opinion and today was no different. A slight lapse in concentration at the start of the second half but otherwise he was impeccable. Intercepted nearly everything, excellent in possession. Showed leadership and composure and I think Boyata benefits from being alongside him.
Sylvinho 7- Definitely a performance of two halves. He was shocking in the first, looked completely off the pace and kept giving the ball away needlessly. He just doesn't look comfortable at full back. As soon as he moved into midfield he started to look sharper in possession, his positional sense was good, and of course the goal was sensational. An absolute rocket.
de Jong 6- Some decent tackles in isolation but over the course of the half he didn't look as focussed as usual. Caught in possession three or four times. Maybe his mind was on Wednesday night, maybe he underestimated Scunthorpe or maybe it was just an off-day. He'll be crucial at Old Trafford though so maybe it's just as well he was taken off at half time.
Ibrahim 7- You'd never have guessed this was his first-team debut. Not a flawless performance but he did a lot of things very well. Energetic and keen to get things moving, decent passer of the ball and made a couple of good deliveries from wide in the first half. Showed glimpses of defensive quality too, with three or four well timed tackles. I think we'll definitely see him again before long.
Ireland 6- A good effort given it's his first game in quite a while. His movement off the ball was, as ever, superb, and some of the interplay between himself, Petrov and Robinho was fantastic. The ball through to Nedum for our second was perfectly weighted. In saying that he didn't have the tenacity we know he can or as much desire as normal, and he did tire and fade as time went on so the right decision to take him off.
Petrov 9- Absolutely outstanding. Short passing, long passing, movement, pace, vision, shooting, skill. He had everything and more in abundance today and terrorised Scunthorpe more than anyone. His goal was obviously brilliant but that was only one aspect of his contribution. Wonderful to watch in this kind of form.
Robinho 6- First half, he seemed willing to get involved for a time and then lost interest when things didn't go his way. Wayward shooting, lazy passing. He picked it up again into the second half and in fairness it was a great team goal finished off excellently. It possibly deflects from the rest of his performance though, which I thought was again average.
Benjani 5- Held the ball well on occasions and released it well to others but he never looked menacing, never seemed likely to score or really trouble their backline. He drifts into the channels too often to be effective as a target man and that leaves space through the middle and we can become cramped in one area and isolated in another. He just doesn't really fit in. Sorry lad.
Zabaleta 7- Excellent bit of skill to get past his man and kickstart our fourth goal, otherwise dependable and good on the ball. Shored things up quite nicely.
Cunningham 6- Another debutant, he looked alright overall. Harsh booking and not what he would have wanted two minutes into his debut but thereafter he held himself together well. Wasn't tested hugely in truth.
Onuoha 7- Solid enough defensively- their left winger was well up for the occasion and looked menacing so it wasn't a walk in the park. His distribution wasn't great but he did make a number of good runs forward. The goal was well taken and well worked but even before it he got into that kind of position from a reverse pass from Petrov. Good stuff.
Boyata 8- Outstanding. He looks like a seasoned pro in our side at the minute- excellent against Boro, solid enough against the rags and today was the pick of the bunch. He was good on the ball, towering in the air, strong in the tackle, read their play superbly. Their second goal was unfortunate and to blame Dedryck for it would be extremely harsh I think. Lest we forget he's 19.
Kompany 8- I'd say over the course of the season he's been our most consistent defender. Touré has been poor, Lescott was struggling to settle and then obviously injured, the full backs need no explanation. He's the one guy who's played at a good level throughout in my opinion and today was no different. A slight lapse in concentration at the start of the second half but otherwise he was impeccable. Intercepted nearly everything, excellent in possession. Showed leadership and composure and I think Boyata benefits from being alongside him.
Sylvinho 7- Definitely a performance of two halves. He was shocking in the first, looked completely off the pace and kept giving the ball away needlessly. He just doesn't look comfortable at full back. As soon as he moved into midfield he started to look sharper in possession, his positional sense was good, and of course the goal was sensational. An absolute rocket.
de Jong 6- Some decent tackles in isolation but over the course of the half he didn't look as focussed as usual. Caught in possession three or four times. Maybe his mind was on Wednesday night, maybe he underestimated Scunthorpe or maybe it was just an off-day. He'll be crucial at Old Trafford though so maybe it's just as well he was taken off at half time.
Ibrahim 7- You'd never have guessed this was his first-team debut. Not a flawless performance but he did a lot of things very well. Energetic and keen to get things moving, decent passer of the ball and made a couple of good deliveries from wide in the first half. Showed glimpses of defensive quality too, with three or four well timed tackles. I think we'll definitely see him again before long.
Ireland 6- A good effort given it's his first game in quite a while. His movement off the ball was, as ever, superb, and some of the interplay between himself, Petrov and Robinho was fantastic. The ball through to Nedum for our second was perfectly weighted. In saying that he didn't have the tenacity we know he can or as much desire as normal, and he did tire and fade as time went on so the right decision to take him off.
Petrov 9- Absolutely outstanding. Short passing, long passing, movement, pace, vision, shooting, skill. He had everything and more in abundance today and terrorised Scunthorpe more than anyone. His goal was obviously brilliant but that was only one aspect of his contribution. Wonderful to watch in this kind of form.
Robinho 6- First half, he seemed willing to get involved for a time and then lost interest when things didn't go his way. Wayward shooting, lazy passing. He picked it up again into the second half and in fairness it was a great team goal finished off excellently. It possibly deflects from the rest of his performance though, which I thought was again average.
Benjani 5- Held the ball well on occasions and released it well to others but he never looked menacing, never seemed likely to score or really trouble their backline. He drifts into the channels too often to be effective as a target man and that leaves space through the middle and we can become cramped in one area and isolated in another. He just doesn't really fit in. Sorry lad.
Zabaleta 7- Excellent bit of skill to get past his man and kickstart our fourth goal, otherwise dependable and good on the ball. Shored things up quite nicely.
Cunningham 6- Another debutant, he looked alright overall. Harsh booking and not what he would have wanted two minutes into his debut but thereafter he held himself together well. Wasn't tested hugely in truth.