Ruud van Nistelrooy’s honeymoon period as interim manager came to a stuttering halt on Sunday as his Manchester United side slumped to an ugly 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
In a game which did not provide much quality at either end of the field, it was a penalty from Bruno Fernandes that poked the Red Devils ahead, only for Moises Caicedo to produce the only true highlight with an expert volley to earn a share of the spoils.
Here are United’s best and worst players according to 90min‘s player ratings.
Noussair Mazraoui – 8/10
Once again playing as a makeshift left-back, Noussair Mazraoui put on a truly stellar show to neutralise Chelsea’s right side.
Despite not matching up to either Noni Madueke or Pedro Neto when it comes to athleticism, the Morocco international used every ounce of his intelligence and class to comfortable win his individual battles, offering a sense of calm which was not always easy to find among United’s squad.
Honourable mention
Bruno Fernandes – 7/10
This was far from a vintage Fernandes performance, but the Portugal international’s resurgence continued here with a composed finish from the penalty spot when United needed him most.
His ability with the ball at his feet was key to United‘s efforts to manoeuvre their way around Chelsea’s energetic press, so hopefully Fernandes can draw some much-needed confidence from this composed showing.
Manuel Ugarte – 5/10
The odd moment of quality from Manuel Ugarte has not yet proven enticing enough to win over the critics his patchy performances have generated.
Here, Ugarte looked like he was chasing shadows at times, racking up needless foul after needless foul as he clearly struggled matching the tempo of what was a comparatively slow Premier League affair.
Dishonourable mention
Andre Onana – 5/10
Andre Onana could not have done a whole lot when it came to Caicedo’s stunning equaliser, but unfortunately for the goalkeeper, that wasn’t the shortcoming which left his own teammates throwing their arms in the air.
Onana’s distribution – he completed just five of 17 long balls – prompted several frustrated reactions from his teammates, who clearly felt as though they could have made more of their forays forwards with a pinpoint pass from the back.
