Man United player ratings vs FC Sheriff: Varane and Martinez solid but Ronaldo poor despite goal

Manchester United got their Europa League campaign back on track with a win over FC Sheriff.

The Red Devils suffered an opening group game defeat against Real Sociedad (1-0) last week, and knowing that anything less than a win in Moldova tonight would leave their European hopes in tatters, Dutch boss Erik ten Hag named his strongest possible starting 11, including new signing Antony and star striker Cristiano Ronaldo.

Following the Premier League giants’ 2-0 win, which now sees them move up to second in Group E, we have rated every player that featured.

David De Gea

Didn’t put a foot wrong and will be delighted with the clean sheet. Solid performance. 7/10

Diogo Dalot

Saw a lot of the ball and linked up well with Antony down the right at times. Responsible for winning the penalty that Ronaldo converted just before half-time. Subbed off for Luke Shaw with 20 minutes to go. 6/10

Raphael Varane

Excellent in the air and read the game well. Thoroughly deserved the clean sheet. 7/10

Lisandro Martinez

Continuing his great partnership with Varane. Looked good again. 7/10

Tyrell Malacia

Quiet game by his standards but no real errors to report. He will have better games though. 5/10

Scott McTominay

Keeping Casemiro out of the side is no easy task but McTominay is managing it well.

Read more: Live: FC Sheriff vs Manchester United | Europa League

Another decent performance tonight. Job made easier by the likes of Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes though. Subbed off for Casemiro. 6/10

Christian Eriksen

Orchestrated the play throughout. Played a beautiful ball into Jadon Sancho which led to United’s opener. 7/10

Bruno Fernandes

Linked up well with his midfield colleagues. Would have liked to have seen a little more attacking creativity but not a bad night’s work overall. 6/10

Jadon Sancho

Scored after 17 minutes with just his third touch of the game. Decent performance overall. Pulled the strings out on the left-hand side and produced the goods when they mattered most. 7/10

Antony

Fairly quiet overall but did showcase a handful of flair moments. Similarly to Malacia, Antony will definitely have better evenings. Brought off with minutes to go in favour of Alejandro Garnacho. 5/10

Cristiano Ronaldo

Scored his side’s second from the spot but had a poor game all things considered. Looked off the pace again. Subbed off for Antony Elanga in the game’s closing stages. 5/10

Subs:

Casemiro

Filled in for McTominay well but only given one half to impose himself so wasn’t expecting much. Looking forward to seeing him start more games though. 5/10

Luke Shaw

Didn’t look too bad but important to remember that the Englishman is coming back from a lengthy lay-off. 5/10

Antony Elanga

N/A

Alejandro Garnacho

N/A

 

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