With the Internationals almost wrapped up, and the players ready to head back to their clubs for the resumption of league football, let us look at how the Manchester United players fared in their respective outings.
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David de Gea
David de Gea is at his peak, no doubt about that. The save to deny Andrea Bellotti was instinctive and characteristic. Had to manage a barrage of Italian attacks later on but was comfortable in getting another clean sheet.
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Sergio Romero
Sergio Romero probably needs to start games more often. His shakiness in goal could have gifted Uruguay a goal after he parried a Cavani effort straight into harm’s way but managed to keep a clean sheet nonetheless.
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Daley Blind
His team suffered a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of France. While Daley Blind was resolute on the ball, his lack of pace was his undoing as he was run ragged by Kingsley Coman and Antoine Griezmann.
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Victor Lindelof
A horrid time at the back for Lindelof and Sweden. He looked shaky and timid in his tackles and made a lot of positioning errors on the night as Bulgaria won their first international game against Sweden in over 50 years.
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Phil Jones
Up against Malta, Phil was hardly troubled. He kept another clean sheet and elicited praise from Gareth Southgate. Only goes to show how much he can offer when completely fit.
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Eric Bailly
Eric Bailly, much like his defensive partner, was unruffled in Ivory Coast’s 3-0 win over Gabon.
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Antonio Valencia
Part of the Ecuador team that were defeated by Brazil. He enjoys the liberty of playing higher up the pitch with his national team but played the entire game on the back foot as Brazil came out all guns blazing.
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Matteo Darmian
His talent is there for all to see. He’s being played out of position by Mourinho, as he was resolute at Right Back for the Italians. His crossing was pin point on the night; but he, much like the entire Italian team, was left dumbfounded by Isco.
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Timothy Fosu-Mensah
After an impressive showing for Crystal Palace on his debut, he followed that up with another impressive performance in the 4-0 defeat to France. Probably the only defensive bright spot in that shambolic performance. This kid definitely has a bright future.
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Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba personifies calmness on the ball. His presence on the ball is enough to strike fear into the opposition. He can switch gears in an instant, calmly passing the ball in midfield to punting long balls across the pitch. His dribbling and technical ability stand out amongst his contemporaries. Definitely a player who’ll only get better.
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Nemanja Matic
Playing against Moldova, Matic was strolling in the centre of the park. He dominated proceedings, as expected and even contributed massively towards the second goal.
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Henrikh Mkhitaryan
A disappointing outing for the Armenian. It was going well until the 54th minute when Armenia were down to 10 men. From then on, it was a ‘backs to the wall’ type performance.
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Marcus Rashford
Can this boy get any better? Made the same England side, that struggled to get past Malta for 45 minutes, look more menacing. His introduction changed the game. Helped himself to an assist later on.
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Romelu Lukaku
In a game that ended 9-0 in Belgium’s favour, it would be criminal if the forwards didn’t score at will. A typical #9 performance from Manchester United’s #9. A header, a tap in and a penalty, all converted as Lukaku scored 3 on the night.
Overall, it has been a good international week for the Red Devils. While there were star performers in the likes of Rashford, Pogba, Lukaku, de Gea, Romero, Bailly and Jones, there were those who struggled to have an impact such as Blind, Mkhitaryan and Valencia.
Victor Lindelof has a lot to work on, but got minutes under his belt.
Most importantly, the players all return to their setups without any injuries and will be hoping to continue in the same vein of form that sees them atop the Premier League standings.
