Manchester United eased the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a convincing 3-0 win away to Tottenham yesterday.
The Red Devils urgently needed this kind of result and performance after their poor recent form, even if some fans will still be unconvinced by Solskjaer’s long-term project.
Tougher tests lie ahead and it’s worth noting just how bad Tottenham were, but here’s a look at the Man Utd player ratings from their victory yesterday…
David de Gea (6) – Against such a poor Spurs side, De Gea barely had anything to do. He’ll be happy with the clean sheet but it’s hard to justify a particularly high rating against such a non-existent attack.
Harry Maguire (7) – Did his job to keep Harry Kane quiet, and brought the ball out of defence well on occasion.
Raphael Varane (8) – Showed real leadership on his return from injury, whilst also driving the team forward with good passing and movement on the ball. A fine player who really seems to be settling in the Premier League.
Victor Lindelof (7) – A better performance from the Sweden international, who benefited from the change to a back three against Tottenham.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (8) – Another player who looked better due to the formation change, Wan-Bissaka played with a little more freedom than usual, looking a more useful attacking outlet than he often has when playing as a more traditional right-back.
Luke Shaw (7) – A solid performance from Shaw, though Lucas Moura caused some problems for United on that side before being bizarrely subbed off early in the second half.
Scott McTominay (7) – An improved performance with plenty of energy and quality in midfield. McTominay was unlucky to miss out on a quality assist for that disallowed Ronaldo goal.
Fred (6) – Better than some of his recent displays, though that wouldn’t be very hard. Still prone to some sloppy moments, but perhaps better protected by the extra bodies in defence.
Bruno Fernandes (7.5) – Still not quite at his best, but even when he’s not completely on-song, the Portuguese maestro provides moments of quality, such as his assist for the Ronaldo goal and his tenacity that led to the Cavani strike.
Edinson Cavani (8) – Surely deserves to start more after this, Cavani linked up well with Ronaldo and showed all his quality with a lovely finish for the second goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo (8.5) – A brilliant finish for the first goal, and a lovely touch and pass to set up Cavani for the second. Surely the man of the match, with this being the kind of game United might only have drawn before Ronaldo’s arrival.
Subs: Rashford (7), Lingard (N/A), Matic (N/A)