Man Utd’s best and worst players in important win over Wolves

Manchester United’s Champions League qualification hopes were aided with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Old Trafford.

It wasn’t a great game against Julen Lopetegui’s side, truth be told, with an outstanding performance from debutant Daniel Bentley in Wolves’ goal the real highlight of a sunny Manchester afternoon.

Anthony Martial was United‘s match winner on Saturday, slotting home from close range after good work from Antony, before Alejandro Garnacho put the gloss on the scoreline with a fine breakaway goal in injury-time.

But they weren’t actually Erik ten Hag’s best performers against Wolves, who didn’t really threaten in terms of goal threat but worked United over in terms of energy and concentration levels.

There were a couple of standout displays interspersed with some relatively anonymous ones – the best and worst collated here from 90min’s full player ratings.

Bruno Fernandes – 8/10

There’s often a lot of talk about what Bruno Fernandes really offers Manchester United.

Some critics like to point to the Portuguese international’s 18-goal debut season, which saw him bag a further ten in all competitions to really hit the ground running in England. Now, because his output has fallen well below that level, Fernandes is questioned.

The criticism is warranted to a degree – Fernandes doesn’t do enough to help protect leads at times and often lets his fiery temperament cloud his judgment. He can be frustrating with his decision making and gives off the impression that it’s everybody else’s fault.

But in the grand scheme of things, Fernandes is a terrific player. A prolific chance creator, he has that gamechanging ability that few others possess. The knowhow of how to unlock an opposition’s defence; the perfect weight of pass at the perfect time.

Here, United sealed the win thanks to Garnacho’s goal, but it was Fernandes’ precise pass which allowed the counter to come to fruition.

Honourable mention

Raphael Varane – 8/10

Okay, so Raphael Varane wasn’t coming up against the greatest version of Diego Costa, but this was a measured defensive display that shows just how important the Frenchman is to Erik ten Hag.

Cool, calm and collected, Varane brushed off Costa’s aggressiveness with consummate ease, managing the Spaniard out of the game and nullifying any kind of goal threat. Minutes in the tank was the most important thing after a recent injury, but there will be plenty of encouragement…