GK Guglielmo Vicario
It is getting difficult to talk about Vicario because we are generally allowing so few shots at the moment, and he is dealing with through balls well. Today, however, he conceded both times United had chances. The first could be argued either way whether he should have come for the ball to help his defenders or should have saved the header. For the second he should have done better. It wasn’t the strongest of headers and again he was rooted to his line. Not the best from Vicario today, and he will likely be a lot busier in our next game. Rating: 4
RB Pedro Porro
Delivery was poor today, particularly from corners. Porro also seemed to lose his bearing for Mbeumo’s goal although from his positioning it isn’t clear he could have got there anyway. Generally provided decent support with both attacking and defending but at critical times, it didn’t go Porro’s way today. Rating: 5
LB Djed Spence
Defended well when needed. Spence covered a lot of ground, including both flanks to stop United breaks. Had one miskick in the first half where he misjudged the ball but thankfully was able to recover. Couldn’t get much success going forward, which we should see more of. No longer think of him as a right back playing out of position, which is credit to his performances for a while now. Rating: 7
CB Christian Romero
Defended with his usual consistency and, like the rest of the side, rarely looked worried by United’s attacks. Had our first real chance of the game from a cross and, although he forced a decent save, Romero could have attacked the ball with more than just a flick. It was a better chance to score than it initially seemed. Rating: 8
CB Micky van de Ven
Did not run the length of the field to score a goal today, which we surely must be expecting every game from now on. On the more realistic side, Micky generally looked assured as usual, however just like last week he was involved in overplaying to gift the opening goal. Those tight situations are ones where we need to clear. Did make an excellent recovery tackle late on to stop a chance. Would have liked to have seen more from the late corner with de Light being the obvious United target at that point. Rating: 6
CM João Palhinha
Tackled well as always, and his positioning provided a good shield in front of the defenders. Palhinha didn’t get the ball forward quickly enough today, which partly is explained by the lack of movement in front of him. Had a good game off the ball but could have provided more drive and urgency when in possession. Bentancur was able to do this to a greater effect when he came on. Rating: 6
CM Pape Matar Sarr
Sarr’s inclusion in the starting lineup seemed like a good choice for his energy against Man United’s more static midfield. It worked to an extent but not as much as hoped. Sarr started well and was getting forward but seemed a bit more subdued for a large part of the game. Was also at fault when overplaying for the important first goal. Did get forward again more towards the end of the game but generally wasn’t the best performance we will see from Sarr. Rating: 5
RW Brennan Johnson
Johnson helped his full back well and was involved in the attack more than in previous games but final ball or decision making often meant it broke down. Is a good finisher and had a goal disallowed for offside in the second half. This is probably Johnson’s best position for us, and can never rule out a goal from him, but he needs creative players around him. His strength is running into space, anticipating the pass, and finishing. Today we seemed to want him to take players on and create which did not bring success. Rating: 4
AM Xavi Simons
Continued his improvement and looked the player who was at least playing with his head up and trying to create. Held the ball well though often found himself surrounded by opposition players with no support. Xavi will benefit from starting with Kudus when he returns. Has ability and hopefully seems to be adjusting the Premier League. Rating: 7
LW Richarlison
Had a difficult afternoon again. Continued to struggle to hold the ball up and play others into the game, which is a consistent problem. Defenders won most of the challenges with him again. Missed a great header early in the game, which should have been 1-0, then scored what looked to be the winner late on. Wasn’t to be 3 points, but great for him to get a much-needed goal. Rating: 5
CF Randal Kolo Muani
Was not in the game, barely touched the ball, and was subbed at half time. There was a lack of involvement from the front players in general, so that didn’t help, but this was a game where we could have got at the United defenders a lot more. Muani looks stronger running with the ball than with his back to goal and would probably be more effective wide. Rating: 2
Substitutes: Kevin Danso, Mathys Tel, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert, Rodrigo Bentancur
I would like to have seen Dane Scarlett on at some point, but Thomas Frank’s subs were good today. Udogie played well and gave us some good drive and width. He does provide more of an attacking option than Spence, and, as good as Spence has been, it was the right move by Frank to being Udogie on and resulted in good play for Tel’s goal. We were far more dangerous towards the end of the game on our left after the subs. Tel had a great game after his introduction not only with his goal, but he provided the movement up front that we had been lacking all game (or more accurately lacking in the last few Premier League games). Odobert was probably our best attacking player after taking a little while to get into the game. Gets the assist for Richarlison’s goal and gave us some movement and direct running. Bentancur and Danso did not have long but Bentancur did carry the ball forward more quickly than we had done previously. Danso is strong in the air so with him and Micky on the field, the context of the late equalizer was particularly disappointing. Ratings: Kevin Danso (5), Mathys Tel (8), Destiny Udogie (8), Wilson Odobert (8), Rodrigo Bentancur (6)