Man Utd v Soton ratings: Gabbiadini impressed; Pogba absent

Oli Fisher
Manchester United: EFL Cup winners

Manchester United: EFL Cup winners

Manchester United produced late heroics as they defeated Southampton 3-2 to win the EFL Cup at Wembley.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jesse Lingard had given Jose Mourinho’s side a 2-0 lead, but goals either side of the break from Manolo Gabbiadini got the Saints level.

However, the big Swede popped up with minutes remaining to head the winner for United.

 

Manchester United ratings

De Gea: Made a handful of good saves on what was not an easy afternoon for the United ‘keeper. 7

Valencia: Had his hands full defensively which stopped his usual attacking tendency. 6

Bailly: Looked to have let the nerves get to him with a shaky display. Arguably at fault for both goals. 4

Smalling: Looked at sea for the second Saints goal but aside from that was solid. 6

Rojo: Had a really tough time. Was rinsed for the opening (disallowed) goal and never really looked settled. 4

Herrera: Great cross for the winning goal and looked his usual dynamic self despite an early booking. 7

Pogba: Went missing on the big stage again after an early effort was saved. Caught in possession for Saints equaliser. 4

Lingard: Loves playing at Wembley, and produced a crucial second goal. Could have produced more in second half. 6

Mata: Completely out of the game, and was unsurprisingly withdrawn at half time. 4

Martial: Got the ball in promising situations but wasted it every time. A poor showing. 4

Ibrahimovic: Scored two goals which have won his team a trophy. Simple as that. 8

Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Scores late winner

Substitutes

Carrick (for Mata, 46′): Wasn’t allowed to boss the midfield like usual. Brought on at a bad time? 6

Rashford (for Lingard, 77′): Was brought on to run at tiring Saints defence, didn’t see much of the ball. 6

Fellaini (for Martial, 90′): N/A

 

Southampton ratings

Forster: There was little he could do to prevent United’s second goal, but he should have saved Ibrahimovic’s free-kick for the crucial first and struggled to command his penalty area. 5

Soares: Provided a consistent attacking threat on the overlap with his pace, and rarely struggled against Martial. 7

Yoshida: Part of the poor central defensive partnership that contributed much to Southampton’s undeserved defeat. 5

Stephens: Like Yoshida, contributed to Ibrahimovic being under so little pressure when he scored United’s winning goal. 5

Bertrand: Promising while attacking, and defended consistently enough that United were often not effective enough out wide. 6

Romeu: Southampton’s defensive midfielder provided much of the platform that gave them such control of the second half, even if he needed to provide more protection to their back four. 7

Claude Puel: Grilled on outgoing transfers

Davis: Typically energetic and industrious. His movement contributed much in making United look so pedestrian throughout the second half. 7

Ward-Prowse: The promising midfielder’s ball-playing ability and intelligence told as the game progressed, forcing United to defend from such a deep position. 7

Redmond: Consistently threatened United with his pace, and forced a fine save from De Gea when the score remained 2-2. 7

Tadic: Far from as decisive as he is capable of being. Perhaps Sofiane Boufal should have started in his place. 6

Gabbiadini: The striker scored Southampton’s first goal with an instinctive finish and their second just after the break but was unfortunate when an earlier effort was wrongly ruled out for offside. 9

Substitutes

Boufal (for Tadic, 77′): A talented and creative player who had too little time in which to influence play. 5

Long (for Gabbiadini, 83′): Brought on to replace the tiring Gabbiadini, but did not get the goalscoring chance his running sought. 6

Rodriguez (for Davis, 90′): Introduced with Southampton already 3-2 down and appearing to accept victory was beyond them. 5