United v Sunderland - Ratings

Let's take a look at the performance of the champions after the 1-0 victory over Sunderland yesterday.

Edwin van der Sar: He had nothing to do, simply nothing at all. Sunderland did not threaten. OK, he dealt with a few crosses and his goalkicks were good. 6

Wes Brown: Nearly but not quite. His crossing should be improved: he often had the ball in threatening positions but failed to deliver a really good ball. 6

Nemanja Vidic: Did his defensive job well and had a good chance to open the scoring after a corner. 6

Rio Ferdinand: His forward forays become increasingly frequent but yesterday that did not prevent him from doing his defensive duties without problem - though I must say there were few of them. 6

Patrice Evra: Less penetrative than usually but he wasn't helped by an inefficient Nani. 6

Chris Eagles: Not bad but he's neither Ronaldo nor Giggs and failed to make the difference on the wing. 6

Paul Scholes: Our player of the season so far, the first who does not get a six today. Controlled the midfield again though he should attempt killer passes more often. 7

Owen Hargreaves: We expected a lot of him and so far he's delivered though yesterday's game wasn't a big challenge for a defensive midfielder. His shooting is dangerous. 7

Luis Nani: His corner resulted in our winning goal but otherwise he did not find space on the left side and often led the ball into crowded areas. 6

Anderson: Disappointing. Looked slow in both thinking and movement. Must be much more sharp to fulfil the expectations. 5

Carlos Tevez: Improving but should pose a real threat on goal. Too often he steps back and does not attempt to break through the defense. His understanding of United's style improved and that's a good sign. 6

Louis Saha: Came on for Anderson and provided an injection for our failing machine. Assured in possession, linking well with Tevez and Scholes, he capped his display with a goal. Man of the match. 7

Darren Fletcher: Replaced Eagles but failed to produce anything significant. 5

John O'Shea: No impact whatsoever. 5

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