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Manchester United player ratings in Liverpool draw: Dour duo 5/10

Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring their first goal with Marcos Rojo and Marouane Fellaini (REUTERS)
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We rate Jose Mourinho’s men as Manchester United and Liverpool produced an intense 1-1 Premier League draw at Old Trafford.

GK: David De Gea (7/10) – Hard to attribute any blame to De Gea for failing to keep out James Milner’s 27th minute penalty – and the Spain international answered all questions confidently when called upon to make saves at various intervals of the game; most notably from Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino on the hour mark.

RB: Antonio Valencia (7.5/10) – The once upon-a-time winger caused Liverpool some early problems on United’s right flank, but struggled defensively once Liverpool’s influence on the game grew. Reverted to a useful attacking outlet upon United’s attempts to get back into the game – including providing the assist for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s equaliser on 84 minutes.

CB: Phil Jones (7/10) – An expected all-action, committed and decisive display from one of United’s biggest improvers under Mourinho. Jones marshalled his defence with constant engagement – despite the relative uncertainty of his central defensive partner, Marcos Rojo.

Liverpool's Divock Origi has his shot blocked by Manchester United's Phil Jones

CB: Marcos Rojo (6/10) – Unlike Jones, and after a recent resurgence, Rojo appeared flustered when called upon to deal with the pace and movement of Liverpool’s Divock Origi.

LB: Matteo Darmian (6/10) – A fairly anonymous performance by right-footed left back Darmian saw the Italian defender replaced by Marouane Fellaini mid way through the second half – as United upped their efforts en route to their comeback.

CM: Michael Carrick (5/10) – A fairly quiet first half showing from the usually influential Carrick. In a forward thinking move, the slightly more effective Wayne Rooney (6.5/10) replaced the 35-year-old at half time.

CM: Ander Herrera (8/10) – An energetically crucial performance from Herrera – who scurried effectively through Mourinho’s midfield engine room. The diminutive number 21 helped to dictate United’s tempo of second half waves of attack and possessed standout quality throughout.

Manchester United's Paul Pogba with new haircut

CM: Paul Pogba (6/10) – An eventful opening to Pogba’s game, as the world-record signing gave away the penalty via a handball and noticeably struggled to compete with Dejan Lovren on a succession of corners and set pieces. Pogba battled in the midfield quagmire, but offered little of significance on United’s attacking front.

FW: Henrikh Mkhitaryan (7/10) – Grew into the encounter and saw a good run and shot saved by Simon Mignolet shortly before half time. Ultimately, despite encouraging opportunities in the second half, the recently in-form Armenian failed to live up to his high standards.

FW: Anthony Martial (5/10) The forward will be disappointed not to have converted Mkhitaryan’s 53rd minute cross before being replaced by Juan Mata after 64 minutes. Despite Martial’s work ethic, and facing Liverpool’s rookie Trent Alexander-Arnold, United’s number 11 failed to influence the game in the final third.

Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrates scoring their first goal

FW: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (7.5/10) – Smashed a free kick through Liverpool’s defensive wall, but saw the blast ricochet off goalkeeper Mignolet’s hands. Ibrahimovic converted United’s equaliser with ten minutes to spare – but aside from the significant goal, Ibrahimovic spent large parts of the game battling with Liverpool’s defence and attempting to hold the ball for what became United’s seemingly plethora of midfield runners.