Manchester United and Jose Mourinho breathe a sigh of relief in the last minute at the Britannia this weekend as veteran striker Wayne Rooney came up with a record breaking goal in stoppage time to give his team a point from the game this weekend. Stoke City, who made a decent start to the game at home, took the lead in the 19th minutes after Juan Mata’s deflection off a Pieters cross breached De Gea’s goal early in the game. The Potters managed to hold on to their lead for most of the game before giving away a cheap free kick in the dying minutes of the game. Up stepped Wayne Rooney, who looked poised from the time he put the ball just outside the box. He found the top corner to see the away end of the field erupt, leaving Stoke with just a point from their troubles. Both team’s will probably take the result in the end and here are the player ratings for the Red Devils in this game:
David de Gea (5):
Could not have done much to stop the deflection from hitting the back of the net but was otherwise decent on a comfortable night.
Antonio Valencia (5):
Was unable to provide width in attack and was also caught napping in the build up to the goal on a forgettable night for the full-back.
Chris Smalling (4):
Was nervy coming back into the first team as he failed to keep up with the likes of Peter Crouch all throughout the game.
Phil Jones (4):
Completing an atrocious performance from the center back paring, Jones, looked lost for most parts of the game and was just unable to provide any kind of a support to his back line on the night.
Daley Blind (6):
Arguably the best player for United at the back, Blind, was decent with his defensive duties and also put in a sparkling shift at the other end.
Ander Herrera (5):
Stuck to his task of winning the ball back in the midfield but failed to have any kind of an impact going forward on an unproductive night.
Marouane Fellaini (5):
Was a decent option for his side in the midfield as he used his physical prowess to keep Stoke under pressure, also testing Lee Grant on numerous occasions.
Paul Pogba (5):
Though not as bad a performance as against Liverpool, Pogba, who came close to scoring a couple of times, was still not as effective as his manager wants him to be in games like these.
Juan Mata (5):
Could not help the own goal early in the game but had a golden chance to equalize which he split. A disappointing performance on the whole from the playmaker.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (5):
Was largely a spectator for most part of the game and though came to life a couple of times, was largely ineffective.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (5):
Failed to act as the spearhead of the attack and also missed sitter on a night to forget for United’s top goal scorer.
SUBS:
Marcus Rashford (6):
The youngster came in to replace Fellaini to add some mettle to the attack and his addition made quite a difference late in the game.
Wayne Rooney (7):
Though not at his best from open play, Wayne Rooney, scored the all important goal from a dead ball situation breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s record as the highest goal scorer for Manchester United.
Jesse Lingard (5):
Created a chance and also came close to scoring when he hit the bar as he did his job very well late in the game.