Rooney to the rescue agains the Black Cats…
Wayne Rooney hit the back of the net twice to secure the three points for Manchester United against Sunderland at Old Trafford.
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But despite the win, there will definitely be concerns over the form of Angel Di Maria who again failed to impress and was taken off at half-time for Ander Herrera.
Here are our player ratings for the Red Devils win:
GK: David De Gea – 6
Had little to do today but did what was required when needed, keeping a Connor Wickham shot out early on.
Superb stop to deny Connor Wickham but was a relatively quiet day for the Spaniard as Sunderland field to trouble.
RB: Anotonio Valencia – 6
Easily handled Wickham and prevented the England man from launching any attacks down the United right.
CB: Chris Smalling – 5
Back in the defence, he struggled for a time keeping Jermain Defoe under-wraps but became more confident as the game went on.
Back in central defence, Smalling had trouble keeping Defor at bay and looked nervous whenver the ball was at his feet.
CB: Jonny Evans – 5
It was an unexpected start for Evans and perhaps it showed why he hasn’t been selected in recent weeks with a quite shaky display that saw him be the target of some anger from United fans.
LB: Marcos Rojo – 6
The most secured defender in the United back-line today and easily kept the spiky Adam Johnson at bay.
CM: Ander Herrera – 6
His third start in recent weeks and despite his lack of goal this week he looked comfortable on the ball and suited to the United midfield.
CM: Daley Blind – 5
Blind started in his accustomed defensive midfield role but looked like he could make an error at any point and was caught on the ball a number of times.
RM: Angel Di Maria – 2
Complete anonymous in the first half. A terrible performance from Di Maria and it was actually a shock he wasn’t hooked sooner.
Hooked off after a 45 minutes you’d have struggled to know he was on the pitch; completely anonymous and disappointing.
CAM: Wayne Rooney – 7
A real captain’s performance today from Rooney whose energy and drive bagged him a brace and the three points for United.
LM: Ashley Young – 6
Came close to an opener for United in the first half but his role reduced as the game went on.
ST: Radamel Falcao – 6
Was relatively anonymous in the first half but his fantastic turn bamboozled O’Shea and Brown and led to United’s first goal via the penalty spot.