MX23RW : Saturday, June 15 17:27:40| >> :60:998:998:
[monks data]
Wolfsburg
Champions League | Group Stage
Dec 8, 2015 at 7.45pm UK
 
Manchester United logo

3-2

Naldo (13', 84'), Vieirinha (29')
FT(HT: 2-1)
Martial (10'), Guilavogui (82' og.)

Player Ratings: Wolfsburg 3-2 Manchester United

Sports Mole looks at who stood out during Wolfsburg's dramatic 3-2 victory over Manchester United at the Volkswagen Arena.

Manchester United were dumped out of the Champions League at the group stage this evening courtesy of a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg in Germany.

The hosts went into the break with a 2-1 lead after Naldo and Vieirinha had cancelled out an early opener from Anthony Martial.

United seemed to be on course for the last 16 when Josua Guilavogui nodded the ball into his own net with just eight minutes remaining, but Naldo notched his second of the night moments later to secure the win.

Here, Sports Mole looks at who stood out on a remarkable night of European action at the Volkswagen Arena.


Wolfsburg's Portuguese striker Vieirinha (C) celebrates scoring during the UEFA Champions League Group B second-leg football match VfL Wolfsburg vs Manchester United in Wolfsburg, central Germany, on December 8, 2015.© Getty Images

WOLFSBURG

Goal

Diego Benaglio: Nothing he could have done about either United goal and made a number of good saves to keep the visitors from adding to their total. (7/10)

Defence

Christian Trasch: Defensive work wasn't the strong point of either side tonight, but Trasch did a decent enough job up against Depay in what was a fairly even tussle between the two. (6/10)

Naldo: Something of an unlikely match-winner with his two goals. Both came at the perfect times just after United had scored, and the first in particular was a truly accomplished finish. (8/10)

Dante: His distribution from the back was very impressive on the whole, although there were one or two exceptions. Not perfect defensively in an open game, though. (7/10)

Ricardo Rodriguez: Provided the assist for Naldo's first goal but was forced off with injury moments later, just 16 minutes into the match. (6/10)

Midfield

Julian Draxler: A constant danger with his slaloming style, especially when acting as the chief creator in Wolfsburg's brilliant second. A man-of-the-match display. (8/10)

Josua Guilavogui: His performance in general play was impressive, but he loses a point for a poor own goal that left the fate of three teams in Group B hanging in the balance with just eight minutes left. (6/10)

Vieirinha: Got his name on the scoresheet by adding the finishing touch to a slick team move, capping off a good, energetic display. (7/10)

Maximilian Arnold: Another who had a strong game in midfield. Tested De Gea with one long drive but, aside from that, was content to act as an enabler for his teammates. (7/10)

Andre Schurrle: Should have scored in the opening three minutes, only to blast his effort over the top. Was denied by De Gea later and provided United with problems down the left. (7/10)

Attack

Max Kruse: Played his part in the second goal having already created the early opening for Schurrle. Missed his one big chance around 20 minutes from time, though. (7/10)

Substitutes

Marcel Schafer: On for the injured Rodriguez and went on to have a telling say on the game, assisting the winning goal and pulling off a sensational block to deny Smalling late on. (7/10)

Timm Klose: Brought on with a little over 10 minutes left to help see out the win, which they just about managed despite conceding in that time. (6/10)

Daniel Caligiuri: Given the final five minutes as Wolfsburg made a change in the immediate aftermath of the winner. (6/10)


Manchester United's English midfielder Jesse Lingard (35), Manchester United's Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini (27) react after the UEFA Champions League Group B second-leg football match VfL Wolfsburg vs Manchester United in Wolfsburg, central Germa© Getty Images

MAN UTD

Goal

David de Gea: Made a string of quite brilliant saves in the second half to keep his side in it and was not to blame for the Wolfsburg goals. (7/10)

Defence

Guillermo Varela: Handed his first United start and his Champions League debut in such a big game, and all things considered he did fairly well. His attacking threat was minimal, but he wasn't a noticeable weak point. (6/10)

Chris Smalling: Not as imperious as he has been for much of the season. Had his moments, but the best of those came in attack, where he was forced to finish the game having picked up an injury and been told to continue. Lost Naldo for Wolfsburg's first. (6/10)

Daley Blind: Played a part in the opening goal of the contest and, despite United giving up plenty of chances, never seemed to be overrun by the hosts. (6/10)

Matteo Darmian: Had the unenviable task of marking Draxler before being forced off through injury in the first half. (5/10)

Midfield

Bastian Schweinsteiger: Struggled up against the pace and trickery of the Wolfsburg attackers and should have done better in the build-up to Wolfsburg's second. (4/10)

Marouane Fellaini: Had one header saved by Benaglio in the first half and played his part in the own goal, but all in all he struggled to make a major impact tonight. (5/10)

Jesse Lingard: Struggled to impose himself on the game in an attacking sense aside from a disallowed goal right on the stroke of half time. (6/10)

Juan Mata: The man responsible for that disallowed goal when he interfered with play. Created the opener with a through-ball to Martial but offered little thereafter. (6/10)

Memphis Depay: Caused one or two problems with his pace and had an acrobatic effort saved by Benaglio, but United fans will still be expecting more. (5/10)

Attack

Anthony Martial: United's best player in the first half, with his pace and movement causing real problems. He faded in the second half, though. (7/10)

Substitutes

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson: Replaced Darmian just before half time and adapted to the situation relatively well considering the magnitude of the game and his inexperience at this level. (6/10)

Michael Carrick: Came on for Schweinsteiger with just over 20 minutes remaining and didn't conjure up anything special to get United back into the game. (6/10)

Nick Powell: Made his long-awaited return to the first team but should have done better with the winning goal. (5/10)


ID:261339: cacheID:261339:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10198:No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester United's Dutch manager Louis van Gaal is pictured during the UEFA Champions League Group B second-leg football match VfL Wolfsburg vs Manchester United in Wolfsburg, central Germany, on December 8, 2015.
Read Next:
Van Gaal: 'Decisions went against us'
>
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Saturday, June 15
 
8pm
Sunday, June 16
 
5pm
 
8pm
Monday, June 17
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, June 18
 
5pm
Wednesday, June 19
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Thursday, June 20
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Group Stage
Spain
vs.
Italy
Friday, June 21
 
2pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 22
 
5pm
 
8pm
Sunday, June 23
 
8pm
 
8pm
Monday, June 24
 
8pm
 
8pm
Tuesday, June 25
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Wednesday, June 26
 
5pm
 
5pm
 
8pm
 
8pm
Saturday, June 29
Sunday, June 30
Monday, July 1
Tuesday, July 2
Friday, July 5
Saturday, July 6
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Germany Germany11003
2 Switzerland Switzerland11003
3 Hungary Hungary10010
4 Scotland flag Scotland10010

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Albania national flag Albania00000
2 Croatia Croatia00000
3 Italy Italy00000
4 Spain Spain00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Denmark Denmark00000
2 England flag England00000
3 Serbia Serbia00000
4 Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Austria Austria00000
2 France France00000
3 Netherlands Netherlands00000
4 Poland Poland00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Belgium Belgium00000
2 Romania Romania00000
3 Slovakia Slovakia00000
4 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Portugal Portugal00000
4 Turkey Turkey00000


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!