Manchester United player ratings v Rayo Vallecano

Manchester United 1-1 Rayo Vallecano

Manchester United have drawn to Spanish side Rayo Vallecano in Erik Ten Hag’s first game in charge at Old Trafford. The Reds kicked off barely 24 hours after their narrow defeat in Oslo to fellow Spanish side Atletico Madrid.

New signings Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen featured in the starting line-up, along with young players such as Alejandro Garnacho, Ethan Laird, James Garner and Tahith Chong also in the starting XI.

Here are your team ratings for the game:

Tom Heaton
Required to make a few impressive saves, including one inside the first 10 seconds, along with some convincing sweeping actions, not much he could have done about the equaliser. 6

Alex Telles
Lacklustre going down the left wing, fed Garnacho a few times and had a good shot deflected into the path of Amad Diallo for United’s goal, however for the majority of game went missing. 6

Lisandro Martinez
Great defensively, very delicate touch and took down the ball beautifully when needing to. Good vision at times and played several perfectly weighted through balls slicing the Vallecano defence open and into the channel to the feet of Garnacho. 7

Raphael Varane
Solid defensively, could hear his voice commanding his defence well as captain today, dominant in his box and won almost every header that came near the box. Could see him tiring nearer the end of the game and slowed down in the second half. 6.5

Ethan Laird
Impressive going down the wing, provided good overlaps for Chong and striding runs down the wing and into the middle of the pitch. Questionable positionally while defending but great offensively, especially in the second half. 6.5

James Garner
Dropped back into defence when needed and provided interceptions throughout the game. Struggled fitness-wise in the second half due to coming back from injury. Some nice skilful moments including a delightful nutmeg while running down the wing in the first half, however dropped of slowly after the break. 6.5

Donny Van de Beek
Played as a no8 in a midfield trio and was creative when going forward, played several through balls, one of them being into Ronaldo for a chance early on that he put over the bar. Held onto the ball well and made some good runs, freeing up space in the centre for Garnacho to run into. Good 1 touch passing and off the ball movement. 7.5

Christian Eriksen
Started the game very well, with some delightful balls, switching the play and connecting the defence, midfield, and attack beautifully. Tired at the end of the first half and continued into the second. Fitness clearly still an issue, but great option in midfield and definitely will be utilised in Ten Hag’s system. 6.5

Tahith Chong
Poor going forward, was careless with the ball and was selfish at times when inside the box with options around him. His runs weren’t intelligent, and his passing was off the mark today. 23 now which is older than Sancho, Ten Hag has a decision to make as to if Chong is needed at the Theatre of Dreams this season and if he is good enough for him. 4.5

Alejandro Garnacho
Made confident, striding runs from the left wing and cut inside to create options for himself and his teammates. Creative passing and was able to find his fellow teammates often. Wasn’t afraid to put a tackle in and tracked back well. Will be interesting to see what Ten Hag will do with him, as he could stay and fight for gametime, or, the more likely option, go out on loan to a championship or prem team to get regular minutes and develop further with a full season under his belt after impressing in the youth cup last season. 7.5

Cristiano Ronaldo
Had to drop deep to receive the ball, had some good chances including the through ball Donny provided him with that he should have scored, played some lovely passes to Garnacho and Donny in the first half. Still issue regarding fitness as he has missed the pre-season tour and hadn’t trained until this week. 6

Substitutes

Amad Diallo
Scored only 3 minutes after coming on, was aware positionally and scored a great poacher’s goal. He didn’t see much of the ball, but when he did he dribbled well and provided the right pass at the right time, good overall performance. 7

Eric Bailly
Didn’t have much to do, but did it well. Cut out everything near him and carried the ball well as usual, good cameo ahead of the season starting. 6.5

Hannibal Mejbri
Some nice overlapping runs, and attempts at crossing. Would have liked to see him get a full half, but carried on his good form from the tour into Old Trafford. 6

Shola Shoretire
Some good moments but fitness still an issue. Skilful player as seen in the game but didn’t get enough time to show his abilities and ease into the game. 6

Zidane Iqbal
Impressed again. Calm on the ball and eased away from his opponents with ease, definitely one of the most exciting young players we have and expect him to be loaned to get the game time he deserves. 6.5

Isak Hansen-Aarøen
Looked eager to show what he’s capable of and looked bright from his short time on the pitch. 6

Let us know what you thought of the Red Devils in their final pre-season game! Are you excited for the season ahead under the new boss?

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    • Hey Lynn,

      Thanks for your kind words, personally I think he definitely has implemented a good system and we’re on the right track, it’ll take time but I think we’ll get there!