Manchester United failed to make the most of the opportunities as they were held to a goalless draw by bottom feeders Hull City on Wednesday at the Old Trafford in the Premier League.
United dominated the possession and controlled the game for the entire first-half but could not carve out a single clear-cut opportunity at goal, apart from a speculative distant effort from Zlatan Ibrahimović which forced a save from Eldin Jakupovic. The Tigers, who did not threaten much in attack, did their job defensively and were helped by a sluggish looking home team. The biggest chance of the night came after Michael Carrick played in Zlatan, who produced a lovely flick to send Paul Pogba through on goal, but the Frenchman’s effort was saved by Jakupovic.
Hull began the second half with much more attacking intent and quite naturally the game started to open up. However, neither team seemed to possess the quality in the final third of the pitch with chances few and far between. Substitute Juan Mata came the closest for United with a stab from close range which the Hull goalie stopped amazingly and at the other end, loanee Lazar Markovic hit the post late in the game with a lovely curled effort. Pogba, once again, was stopped by Jakupovic in the added time, as the Tigers held out for an important point at Old Trafford.
The performance was much reminiscent of the Louis Van Gaal era, as the United players had the ball aplenty, but failed to make the most of it. Things seemed slow and laborious in the final third, as there was not much in the sense of creative brilliance and all in all resulted in another dour draw at home. With Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, all having dropped points on Tuesday, Jose Mourinho’s team had the perfect opportunity to turn up the heat on the top-four but failed miserably. Let’s assess how each United player fared on the evening:
David De Gea – 6/10
Did not have anything to do for the most of the night. Was beaten all ends up from the shot by Lazar Markovic, but was saved by the post.
Antonio Valencia – 6/10
Got forward with much endeavour, sent in some lovely balls into the box but the attackers failed to get on the end of it. Was a consistent source of attack down the right flank.
Phil Jones – 7/10
Another commanding display by the Englishman. Won everything in the air, swept up everything that came United’s way with great ease. However, was withdrawn due to a muscle discomfort.
Marcos Rojo – 6/10
The Argentine made quite a few crucial blocks and interceptions throughout the evening. Did not allow the forwards to get past him. Sent in some incisive long balls late in the game as United went about chasing the winner.
Daley Blind – 7/10
Some excellent crosses from the left-hand side that were begging to be attacked. Good set-piece delivery as well. Spent most of the time doing attacking duties with not much pressure defensively.
Michael Carrick – 7/10
The veteran midfielder was absolutely bossing the game from deep in the middle of the park, carving out the Hull defence with some lovely passes. Hence it was confounding to see Mourinho withdraw him at half-time.
Ander Herrera – 6/10
Typical performance with all the hustle and bustle in the midfield. However, lacked the creative edge going forward. Had a go at the goal from distance several times to no avail.
Paul Pogba – 5/10
A passenger for most of the game, the record signing flitted in and out of the game consistently. He came the closest to beat Jakupovic on two occasions and perhaps should have done better with the first chance.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5/10
Showed some neat tricks on the ball, but was largely rendered ineffective by the impressive Andrew Robertson. Lacked the final ball to open up the defence.
Marcus Rashford – 6/10
Full of vigour down the left-hand side. Kept running at the defence each time he received the ball, but the end product was found lacking big-time.
Zlatan Ibrahimović – 5/10
There were some pieces of brilliance that set up chances for his teammates. But the Swede came up short in the attacking third. Did not do enough to test Jakupovic. Seemed to be in two minds most of the time.
Substitutes
Wayne Rooney – 4/10
Replaced Carrick at half-time, but added nothing to the team. Failed to produce any real moment of quality and received a booking for being a little too vocal in the face of the referee.
Chris Smalling – 6/10
Replaced the injured Jones. Solid in defence. Did well to set up Mata with a precise header across the goalmouth.
Juan Mata – 5/10
Came on for Mkhitaryan. Failed to inspire in the attacking third. However, did see a shot at goal from close range saved brilliantly by Jakupovic.