Olympique Marseille versus Manchester United – UEFA Champions League Player Ratings (Part 1)
In a match that will be categorized as a snooze fest, Olympique Marseille and Manchester United played out a dull 0-0 draw at Stade Vélodrome. Let’s take a look at how the players from Olympique Marseille performed at their home turf in their crucial UEFA
Champions League in the first leg of the Round-of-16 tie against three-time European champions.
Olympique Marseille
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Steve-Mandanda-c34177
Marseille’s shot stopper had a quiet night overall. His only moment of “discomfort” came in the first half when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Darren-Fletcher-c10361 unleashed a first time shot on Marseille’s goal. However, the Congolese born French national held onto the Scotsman’s drive. In
the second half, Manchester United failed to test Mandanda but the experienced goalie looked nervous while dealing with crosses, something that the Red Devils might look to build upon in the second leg at Old Trafford.
Rating: 7/10
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gabriel-Heinze-c14310
Weak in the first half while dealing with Luis Nani’s pace and trickery, the ex-Manchester United defender seemed out of form with regard to his depth playing against the Portuguese winger. In the first half, Nani had the beating of Heinze, one every available
opportunity. The Argentinean defender grew in confidence in the second half as he left http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nani-c27299 free on the counter attack but embarked on some crucial offensive runs of his own. Overall, Heinze looked like a man past his days and a defensive liability for Marseille
on several occasions of the match. Rating: 6/10
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Souleymane-Diawara-c33850
Completely dominant at the back, Diawara did nothing wrong on the night as he had an easy time against the silky Berbatov among Manchester United’s attack. The Marseille center back showed pace and experience in tandem while dealing with the Bulgarian. He
kept Manchester United’s sole striker quiet throughout the encounter and with tight marking on the corner kicks against the likes of Vidic and Smalling, he guided Marseille to a clean sheet at the end of the match.
Rating: 8/10
Stephane Mbia
The Cameroonian defender helped Marseille’s left back, Gabriel Heinze, out with Luis Nani down the left hand side of the French side’s defense, reflecting the lack of movement between Manchester United’s front three. Mbia helped contain Nani and also did
well to cover for his defensive partner Diawara throughout the match. It was a responsible performance at Stade Vélodrome by Mbia, who must be on his A-game once again when both the teams meet at Old Trafford in mid-March.
Rating: 7.5/10
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Rod-Fanni-c31402
The French full back did very well to keep http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wayne-Rooney-c36736 quiet on the forward’s new position on Manchester United’s right wing. It can be said that Fanni was quite competitive on the defensive front but lacked the ambition to stride forward in attack. However,
such was Marseille’s mentality on the night that their right back was pre-occupied with the concept of keeping a clean sheet rather than scoring a goal. When both the teams play each other again on 16th of March, Fanni will have to show a little
more guile and imagination in possession if Marseille really wants to seal their place in the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Rating: 7/10
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