Ted Edwards with your essential TF player ratings on a chastening evening in Dortmund (on the pitch at least) for a depleted United.
***
Pope – 7 – Solid enough and pulled off a couple of good stops to keep us in it, as he had done in Milan. Couldn’t blame him for either goal.
Trippier – 5 – Far from his best game even though he is still a quality turn. Livramento added an an extra attacking dimension when he went back to right back at the beginning of the second. Swapped back from the left because of Tino’s extra pace. Bad, tired-looking free kick for their second, which he will want to forget.
Schär – 6 – Steady away. Made some good ball-playing interventions, as always. Overwhelmed by sheer number of bodies and lack of cover for the first.
Lascelles – 6 – Same as Schär. Which is a compliment when you think about it. A steady presence away in the Champions League shows how far he’s come.
Hall – 6 – Booked early and hooked at half time. Struggled as he did against Man City in the League Cup. Will be a great learning curve for the kid.
Bruno – 6 – Not his best game. The odd incisive pass but unable to influence the game going forward or provide the cover needed when the Dortmund midfield overwhelmed us.
Longstaff – 6 – Covered the ground as he always does, but part of a midfield that’s struggled twice now against a Dortmund team that’s set up with a clear plan to nullify our usual running patterns.
Joelinton – 7 – Played well on his return to Germany, despite missing a crucial header. A reminder why he’s not a number 9?
Willock – 6 – Slow to get back up to speed at this level. Showed some flashes of pace and promising moments, but unable to exert any real influence.
Livramento – 7 – Star man for me. Dynamic and pacy on the right, strong in the tackle, and with a fantastic ball for Joelinton’s chance. Switched to the left to cover Adyemi’s pace later on and was equally accomplished.
Wilson – 5 – Starved of service and looked like he was not 100% fit. Telling that we looked so much better as a team in the second half when Gordon came on, though without his cutting edge.
Subs
Gordon – 6 – Worked really hard and made us look a more dynamic all-round team in the second half. Needed a rest after Arsenal where he looked exhausted towards the end. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough fit bodies to give him that rest.
Almirón – 6 – Same as Gordon really. Interchanged well with Livramento when he was on the right. Contributed to our strong start to the second half.
Miley – n/a – Not really on long enough to judge the kid.
Overall, unfortunately, just not enough people hitting their best form and getting the 8s or 9s which would could have helped us get a result.
Ted Edwards
