Man Utd v Liverpool ratings: Coutinho brilliant; Fellaini lucky

Scott Anderson

Philippe Coutinho was the main man for Liverpool as they overcame Manchester United in the Europa League, while Marouane Fellaini was lucky to have not seen red as we rank the players’ performances.

MANCHESTER UNITED PLAYER RATINGS

David De Gea: Pulled off two brilliant early saves to deny Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino, but beaten easily at near post when Coutinho chipped in Liverpool’s equaliser. 7

Guillermo Varela: Ripped to shreds by Coutinho for the goal. Replaced at half-time with the more attacking option of Antonio Valencia. 5

Chris Smalling: Got completely outdone by one Roberto Firmino turn which had him trailing in the Brazilian’s wake but was solid enough. 6

Daley Blind: Did not look comfortable against pace of Sturridge or movement of Firmino. 5

Marcos Rojo: Had a glorious chance to put United 2-0 up on the night but spooned his effort wide. Replaced by Matteo Darmian in second half. 6

Michael Carrick: Switched play well and dictated the game in the first half. Looked able to create something but substituted in the second half for Bastian Schweinsteiger. 6

Marouane Fellaini: Lucky to have not been shown red when appearing to intentionally elbow Dejan Lovren, came close on occasions but a frustrating night for the Belgian. 4

Jesse Lingard: Had a first-half header well saved and in the first half looked better playing through middle in the number 10 role but impact was reduced after the break. 5

Juan Mata: Flitted about positively in the first half, drifting in off the right flank to pull the strings, but faded as the game went on. 6

Anthony Martial: United’s best player on the night. Won and scored the opening penalty and constantly tormented Nathaniel Clyne. 7

Marcus Rashford: Shown glimpses of his raw pace and tried to make things happen, but faced a huge ask when up against an experienced Liverpool defence. 6

Substitutes

Antonio Valencia (for Varela, 46): Intention was to offer more attacking option as United chased the game but could influence the game very little from right-back. 6

Matteo Darmian (on for Rojo, 63): His introduction did little to affect United’s performance or game plan. 6

Bastian Schweinsteiger (on for Carrick, 70): The game was already up by the time he was sent on and a like-for-like change almost seemed like Louis van Gaal going through the motions. 5

LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS

Simon Mignolet: Solid throughout the game and collected crosses with comfort. Kept out Lingard with a great save. 7

Nathaniel Clyne: Torrid evening for the Reds full-back. Gave away the penalty with a foul on Martial and always looked second best. Booked for a late challenge on Marcus Rashford. 4

Dejan Lovren: Solid defensive performance, appears to be a new player under Jurgen Klopp and improving by the game. 7

Mamadou Sakho: Imperious at the heart of Liverpool’s defence. Countless challenges, headers and clearances to deny United. Arguably the best player on the pitch. 8

James Milner: Put under pressure in the first half in a make-shift left-back role, but remained solid and provided constant attacking option. Typical energetic performance. 7

Emre Can: Another big game from the Germany international whose influence grew with a controlled, dominant performance. 8

Jordan Henderson: Should have scored in the first half but blasted his effort over the bar, tentative in the midfield battle. 6

Adam Lallana: Plenty of nice touches but too often took too many. Not up to the standard of his previous performance but worked well in tandem with his fellow attackers. 6

Philippe Coutinho: The magician was mesmeric in the number 10 role for Liverpool. Denied early on by De Gea but scored a stunning equaliser by running with the ball, skipping past Varela and chipping the ball over the United goalkeeper to put his side level. Drifted past players like they were not there at times. 8

Roberto Firmino: Provided plenty of running both offensively and defensively and was a creative force. 7

Daniel Sturridge: Came close to scoring with his free-kick crashing off the bar. Sliced a good chance in the second half, hauled off for Divock Origi. 6

Substitutes

Joe Allen (on for Henderson, 71): Sent on for tiring legs. Busied himself enough to prove his usefulness again. 6

Divock Origi (on for Sturridge 68): Strong running stretched a weary United defence and only criticism would be reluctance to shoot when opportunity arose. 6

Christian Benteke (on for Firmino, 84): Late run to give Firmino a rest but had little time to show much. 6