Newcastle vs Man United Player Ratings

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

United blistered to a quick start with headed goals from Patrice Evra and Jonny Evans before a stunning goal from Tom Cleverley sealed the game. 

Newcastle

Steve Harper - 5.5
Poor to lose the ball to Welbeck and was fortunate to not conceded a goal. (Affected him?). Diving save to deny Rooney

Davide Santon - 6
Despite being deployed as a right back, Santon was still able to perform and looked promising going up on the overlap in attack. He was helped by the fact that United offered little width going forward.

Mike Williamson- 5
Williamson looked poor without the presence of Fabricio Coloccini in the middle of defence. He lost track of Jonny Evans and was guilty for conceding the first goal. He never looked quite comfortable in terms of man-marking but held his own when United players were running at him.

James Perch - 5.5
Perch is a natural midfielder but looked decent when called to plug back in the center of defence for his side. Not a commanding performance, but decent enough.

Shane Ferguson (Off 63') - 5
A surprise call-up for the youngster, Ferguson acquitted himself well and like Santon, was helped by the fact that United lacked the width when going forward. He did look less certain when Valencia came on but still managed to keep his flank tidy.

Hatem Ben Arfa - 6.5
The midfielder looked dangerous and likely to beat players with his pace but his delivery was suspect, which let his side down.

Yohan Cabaye - 6.5
His long passes in were always a source of trouble for United but failed to control the game with his passes in the middle due to United's crowded midfield diamond. 

Chieck Tiote (Off 80') - 6
Tried to impose himself physically in the same fixture last season but failed to do so early on as United kept possession well. He got more into the game as it wore on but his aggressive efforts were in vain.

Jonas Gutierrez - 7.5
The Argentine was one of Newcastle's best players - he never looked flustered, comfortable bringing the ball up and tracking back in defence. And his versatility was shown when he shifted to playing a left back late in the game. Pardew could only wish he has more players like him.

Demba Ba - 7
Fingers may point at Ba for losing out on headers for United's two goals but the fault lay with his team mates failing to track back instead. Ba took on the responsibility as Newcastle's main striker and performed well, troubling De Gea in the air whenever a cross was floating into the United box.

Papiss Cisse (Off 63') - 5
Cisse still can't find his groove in the league yet and it's evident in this match. He was nowhere to be found most of the time and his only noticeable effort was the shot which was palmed off the line by De Gea.

Substitutes

Shola Ameobi (On 63') - 5.5
Came on but did little to add to Newcastle's attacking impetus.

Vurnon Anita (On 63') - 5.5
He shored up the midfield but saw little of the ball as United were in cruise control by then.

Gael Bigirimana (On 80') - N/A

Manchester United

David De Gea - 6
De Gea still looked unsteady when Newcastle launched long balls into the box and was lucky to escape from conceding a goal after he flapped at and missed at a cross for Ba which struck the bar. He made up for it by showing excellent reflexes, pushing out Cisse's follow-up shot from millimetres over the line but his performance is far from reassuring for United fans.

Rafael - 7
The dynamite Brazilian tried providing width for his side down the flank but failed to do so without the help of a winger in front of him. The same reason meant that he lacked protection against Ben Arfa running at him but Rafael managed well enough.

Rio Ferdinand - 8
It's surprising to see him hold back and now charge up for corner kicks - a sure sign of his aging body, which is why it's pleasing to see him turn in a mature, imperious performance in the middle of defence, repelling the Newcastle attack.

Jonny Evans - 7.5
Evans scored his third career Premier League goal early on with a cracking header and turned in a steady performance at the back to seal a much-deserved clean sheet for United.

Patrice Evra - 8
The recently much-maligned left back looked far steadier in defence than his critics suggests and covered his flank well. He also scored a rare headed goal - which is difficult considering his height. His steady performance should be a reassuring sign for United going into the international break.

Michael Carrick - 8
Carrick put in a no-fuss performance pulling the strings for United in the middle of the park with relish. His simple metronome-like style helped his side keep possession well, which was key in the win.

Tom Cleverley - 7.5
Questions will be raised on whether his stunning strike was an intended one but there could be not questions asked about his effort in the match. He was always running, either closing down opponents or making space for his team mates.

Wayne Rooney (Off 78') - 8
Rooney proved his versatility playing as a central midfielder and did not look out of pace in the middle of the park. He was always there to sweep up loose balls and added a much-needed physical element to the United midfield while directing the attack at the same time.

Shinji Kagawa (Off 54') - 5.5
Kagawa never looked comfortable in the match and was unconvincing dragging wide to provide width. He was physically outmatched and was then unable to influence the match as much as he would like to - which can also be put down to the fact that there were little team mates wide to provide options on the flank.

Danny Welbeck - 6
Welbeck missed a golden chance with an open goal at his mercy after dispossessing Harper early on. It was the story of his match - he was full of effort, closed down hard but looked nervy and lacked composure in front of goal.

Robin van Persie (Off 86') - 6.5
It seems like Van Persie will only shine when the going gets tough for United. He crossed in for the first goal but grew frustrated as the first half wore on as he found space and time hard to get. It showed when he was booked for a needlessly reckless challenge on Tiote.

Substitutes
Antonio Valencia (On 54') - 7
Valencia came on and provided much-needed width for United but did not have a significant impact on the game.

Paul Scholes (On 78') - N/A

Ryan Giggs (On 86') - N/A