Thursday, March 12, 2009

Player Ratings: Manchester United 2-0 Inter

Early goals in each half from Nemanja Vidic and Cristiano Ronaldo saw Manchester United through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Goal.com rates the performers...

MANCHESTER UNITED

Van der Sar 6 - The veteran Dutchman didn't have a great deal to do in all honesty. Inter's golden chances were missed, as opposed to saved.

O'Shea 6 - The defender had a bit of a roller coaster ride. Mario Balotelli caused him no end of problems during the first half, and the Irishman conceded a number of free-kicks. He also should have scored or played in Berbatov as he charged through.

Ferdinand 6 - Didn't look fully comfortable, fitness wise, and lost track of Ibrahimovic on a couple of occasions.

Vidic 7.5 - Gave United a dream lead by making a fool of Vieira and glancing his header into the net. From then on he was solid and composed, although Inter did get their act together.

Evra 6.5 - Overlapped Giggs all night, but wasn't really utilised properly. Did what he had to do, including a crucial head-flick with the taller Ibrahimovic lurking.

Ronaldo 8 - In Italy, he turned in his best performance in recent memory. Here he scored his first Champions League goal of the season with a powerful header, but he never quite reached the heights of the first-leg, although he always gave Inter something to think about.

Carrick 5.5 - It never really happened for Carrick, who was below par. Although his early corner assisted Vidic, he gave the ball away too often thereafter.

Scholes 5.5 - It wasn't Scholes' best game by any stretch of the imagination. His passes never really came off and he lacked composure at key times, uncharacteristically. Hooked for Anderson.

Giggs 8.5 - Like the first leg, the wily Welshman was heavily involved. During the first half he had a couple of hairy moments with arrogant flicks that went nowhere, but by and large he was stunning as captain. He drifted all over the place and was instrumental in setting up the second goal.

Rooney 7.5 - Rooney more often than not ends up stuck on the left in Europe, but he made the most of it on the night. His tracking back stopped Maicon from marauding on a couple of occasions, although he was eventually booked for his troubles. Like Giggs he was keen to drift inside.

Berbatov 6 - Was close to pulling out at the last minute after pulling up in the warm-up, and it showed throughout. Should have scored on the hour mark.

Subs:

Park Ji-Sung tracked back well in place of Rooney and Anderson replaced Scholes. These were merely fresh legs, and not tactical replacements.


INTER

Julio Cesar 7 - His defence couldn't really cope with the aerial threat, but from direct shots he did well to beat the ball to safety.

Maicon 7.5 - You know what you're going to get with Maicon, and he was Inter's main threat throughout. He ran for 90 minutes and, although he had to be covered by the centre-backs, he was more valuable as a winger.

Cordoba 7.5 - Was surprisingly good, getting across to cover in wide areas. However, he was less assured with the ball in the air.

Samuel 7.5 - He dealt with Ronaldo quite well, although he was booked eventually for giving him personal attention. Still one of the better performers, getting things moving from the back and making key interceptions, even though he wasn't expected to play.

Santon 6 - It was a massive test for the youngster and he was exposed at the second goal, losing the ball in a key area. Otherwise, it's clear that we'll see him again at this level.

Zanetti 6.5 - Foraged for scraps and worked hard without ever really making a big splash.

Cambiasso 7 - Played some quality passes and was usually available to link up. However, he never really imposed himself as he might have. He put in a good shift, but could have made a bigger difference.

Vieira 4 - The former Arsenal man was completely bamboozled at the first goal and never really got going. Hooked for Muntari at the interval.

Stankovic 6 - The midfielder curled a shot wide during the first half and might have done better with a close-range effort which had bounced in front of him. However, he was making good runs and was hooked for Adriano too early.

Ibrahimovic 7 - The Swede should have scored at some point during the contest. One chance went into the turf and hit the bar, one shot whizzed across goal and wide - he never really had the conviction. However, he brought others into play and was untouchable at times.

Balotelli 7 - Had a good game overall, although he faded badly. The youngster gave O'Shea massive headaches during the first half and produced a couple of passes of real quality. He was better on the left than when he popped up on the right, however.

Subs:

Adriano was unlucky to hit the post just after coming on, Muntari had a frustrating second half and was booked, and Luis Figo was given a few minutes at the end.

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