Southampton 2-2 Manchester United: Premier League – Player Ratings
By Joe Mcindoe
Goalkeeper and Defenders
Goalkeeper- Alex McCarthy- 6.5
Given McCarthy’s strong Southampton career to date, his performance against United may go down as his weakest so far. The opening three minutes saw the number one air kick what should have been a simple clearance. He did at least make up for the error with a good save from Romelu Lukaku’s subsequent shot.
The England squad member could also have done better for the Devils equalizer, failing to get behind a ball which deflected off him and in. For the most part McCarthy did what was required of him but, didn’t look quite as assured when punching one or two balls.
Left Back – Cédric Soares- 7.5
After taking up the makeshift posting in the League Cup tie against Leicester, Cédric returned to the left back birth with notable success. The Portuguese star opened his Southampton premier league account, with a gorgeous free kick. Given the unnatural position of the full-back, Soares acquitted himself quite well.
That doesn’t stop him from picking up his share of the blame for United’s come back, but we’ll get to that below.
Defender- Maya Yoshida- 7
It would be fair to say that Yoshida has made a big improvement over the years, but as the defending for the goals proves he’s still some way off perfection. The Japanese international comprehensively lost his battle with the enterprising Marcus Rashford, who produced sharp work to find the goal-scorer Lukaku. After losing his test with the English front man, Yoshida finds a useless position in no man’s land, and can do nothing but watch as the powerful strike finds the net.
The senior Pro is then made to look rather foolish as both he and Cédric failed to close the gap on a pinpoint ball into the box.
Yes, it was a superb ball in for the second goal, but certainly preventable.
Right Back – Yan Valery – 8
In making his Premier league debut for his South coast side, Valery made himself at home at right back. He worked hard during a baptism of fire and didn’t put a foot wrong.
Defender- Jannik Vestergaard- 6.5
The Southampton backline showed effort, and determination, but sadly not enough quality. For his part Vestergaard was far too slow to adequately mark Lukaku for his goal and then found himself marking the invisible man for the equalizer.
After being easily turned by Marcus Rashford, the Norwegian joged into the most ineffective position within the penalty area. With no opposition player coming in from behind and the number four’s starting position too far away to help his colleagues with Ander Herrera’s goal bound shot, he may as well have been standing there with a Coke and popcorn.
Apologists for the defender may reasonably argue that Saints’ zonal marking set up let the side down. That may be true, but the ability to spot potential danger not to mention using common sense, sets apart the good from the great.
Defender- Jack Stephens- 6.5
Jack Stephens must take a sizable portion of the blame for both of Manchester United’s goals. The first breach saw Stephens drawn towards the dangerous run of Rashford. In an effort to confront, the centre back left the door wide open for an excellent pass to find the marauding Lukaku.
For the second goal, the 24-year-old plays his part in what you might call, the crème de la crème of dreadful defending. After a superb ball is delivered from the byline, Stephens offers very little by way of last-ditch resistance. In opting to mark the goal area the number five, gifts Herrera all the time and space required to convert.
If a player is going to be the last line of defence then he must be prepared to throw his body on the line. If the plan is to mark the man then space should only be given at a premium.
It’s not clear which approach Jack Stephens had intended, but it’s safe to say it didn’t work.