Manchester United opened the season with a dejecting loss to Swansea after a tense game at Old Trafford after 2 goals from Ki and Sigurdsson with a 2nd half goal from Wayne Rooney. Here are the player ratings of each individual Manchester United player.
De Gea - 4/10
The Spaniard tried his best during the game and this was proven in his stats from the game with 2 saves in 4 shots on target with the other two shots on target being goals for "the swans." However this was far from his best and this was mostly at fault with his defensive line and a lack of communication. Hopefully he can take the loss and improve on it so that he can be back to the admirable form he showed last season.
Phil Jones - 5/10
Was by far the best out the three United defenders, who couldnt do much from Ki's opener as he was being blocked by Bony, however he did put in some excellent admirable tackles especially in the second half from stopping Gomis from striking. However 3 goals were still conceded and with reports of Marcos Rojo joining United going stronger, hopefully stronger defensive performances will be shown throughout the season.
Chris Smalling- 4/10
The England international needs to impose himself on the game more. Indecisive and hesitant on the ball on occasions which shouldn't be expected from him. However, he did contribute 82 passes with an accuracy of 89% so it shows he is capable of helping the counter-attack.
Tyler Blackett - 4/10
It wasn’t the best of debuts from the defender but then again, none of us thought it would be. Blackett isn’t fully ready for the first team and he was only thrust in at the deep end because of our lack of defenders. With the incoming signing of Rojo, it seems like blackett's chances to start games will be diminished but there were some positives from the 20 year old.
One of these was his ability on the ball that looked better than Smallings at times, with the youthful player keen on spraying long passes to his team-mates. He completed 90 passes with an accuracy of over 93%, 18 of these being long passes. This shows he is more of an attacking- minded player and this isn't suprising as he is naturally a left back, which is probably why he performed better when playing in a 4-3-3 in the second half.
Jesse Lingard - 4/10
Unfair to rate the highly rated youngster on his performance today, playing only 24 minutes before walking off with a knock to his knee on his Old Trafford debut. You could tell that he didn’t want to leave the pitch and hopefully he’ll get his chance soon.
Darren Fletcher - 5/10
Did his job well in midfield but players around him lacked the creativity to open up Swansea and take chances. You could see that the defense were being pressured to play more with the ball with the whole defensive line making more passes than him. The Vice-captain will be forced to improve in his next game as he will most likely be starting games for Michael Carrick who has an injury which could take him out for 12 weeks.
Ander Herrera - 6/10
A few glimpses of brilliance but the Spaniard looked below the usual high standards we should expect of him. Ponderous with the ball and didn’t really create many chances. Was subbed on after 65 minutes for Fellaini, so it just a question of how long it will take Herrera to adapt to the Premier league.
Ashley Young - 4/10
Showed a lot of attacking intent and looked promising going forward but defensively suspect again as he lost Routledge in the build-up to second goal. A fairly average game for the English winger.
Juan Mata- 5/10
A disappointing game for the Spaniard and can still give so much more. Wasted a couple set-pieces by putting them too close to the keeper. It seemed like he wasn't on the pitch at times which shouldn't be expected as we all know is has world-class abilities.
Javier Hernandez - 3/10
In my opinion, the worst player on the pitch, He seems to have lost every attribute that made him a great player for United. He seemed slow, sloppy and fatigued and that was why he was replaced at half time. It looks like Chicha may have just played his last match for Manchester United.
Wayne Rooney - 6/10
A encouraging performance from the newly-appointed captain who netted an exquisite bicycle kick against former Arsenal goalkeeper Fabianski.
Marouane Fellaini - 5/10
A below average performance from the Belgian. He looked absolutely clueless and just seems to run after the ball instead of marking his man, which led to us conceding the second goal. Became frustrated and elbowed Swansea’s Ki, too… A real liability. Kagawa should have been subbed on for Herrera although you can understand why Van Gaal opted to put in a more physical presence of Fellaini in theory.
Nani - 6/10
Reports suggest that Nani is off on loan to Sporting Lisbon and after that performance, it’s clear to see why. Manchester United are having to bring on players who they deemed ‘surplus to requirements’… Surely that tells you we need to make some signings? However, Nani hasn't lost the skills and dribbling qualities that made him a fan-favourite at United and you could see this in the closing minutes of the game with him beating his man to whip in a cross that wasn't finished.
Adnan Januzaj - 7/10
Was subbed on for Lingard in the 25th minute and and did him justice with the Belgian looking energised and was a constant threat to the oppositions defense. However he didn't score or provide and assist so his attacking threat was meaningless. However he has been entrusted with Ryan giggs former shirt, so he has a lot to live up to and we can expect him to have another breakthrough season with United.
Manager Rating- Louis Van Gaal - 7/10
The Dutch manager has been introduced to the Premier League with a blow, allowing Swansea to walk away with 3 points. However this is not his fault and is largely the teams, with the result only further highlighting the transfers that are needed for united to fight for Champions League Qualification, let alone the title. Van Gaal showed his risky side by changing formation to 4-3-3 at half -time, saying that "I had decided to change formation in the first half because Swansea made the pitch big and 4-3-3 is better formation to press with." This sort of tactical changes in games will benefit Manchester United in future games, knowing that their manager analyses both teams playing closely, finding any weaknesses he can exploit. Manchester Uniteds next game is against newly- promoted side Barnsley which will prove a somewhat easier game for the Dutchman. When Shaw, Carrick, Valencia,Evans,Rafael and Van Persie are all back to be chosen for starting line ups, then this is when Van Gaal can fully experiment with his new side and find a team that works.
