Player Ratings: Manchester United 1-0 Sunderland

Manchester United:

Van Der Sar 6.0 Had nothing to do bar the odd goal-kick and short pass. He managed that.

Rafael 7.0 Gave United their true width on the right with Ronaldo drifting all over the place. Confident, efficient, aware.

Evra 7.5 A tremendous showing from the soon-to-be suspended left-back. Had nothing with which to deal in a defensive capacity but provided a sure-footed option at the business end and pinned the roving Chimbonda to the corner.

Vidic 7.5 Faced limited competition at the defensive end. Threw caution to the wind to make himself an auxiliary centre forward in the closing stages and was rewarded.

Ferdinand 7.0 Assured in the face of limited threats but showed his ability on the ball by choosing the right base-pass on countless occasions.

Carrick 6.5 His shot ultimately led to the goal in injury-time and he rarely wasted a pass. Did not have the opportunities to be his usual incisive self in the face of swathes of opposition shirts. Effective nonetheless.

Fletcher 6.0 The least prominent of the United front-six. That is not to say he played badly, he found space in which to work difficult to come by. Efficient in the pass, solid in the tackle.

Ronaldo 5.0 Preened and posed his way through the first half, flicked a petulant boot at Bardsley and marched himself down the tunnel without shaking the hand of his team-mate, leaving his side with ten men. Not the behaviour of a champion.

Park 6.0 Full of verve and energy; Park looked to have the key to unlocking the Sunderland backline with his work ethic but had little chance to express himself.

Rooney 7.5 Dropped into different positions as the game went on, excelled in each. His lack of goals is a slightly worrying prospect, but his performance levels remain high.

Berbatov 6.5 Tried to be clever around the area but his attempted passes were, more often than not, crowded out. Had two clear headed chances, missed them both.

Subs:

Tevez 6.5 Worked hard and showed good ability on the ball. Dragged his attempts off target; his manager doesn't trust him and it shows in his confidence levels in front of goal.

Anderson 6.0 Denied by a tremendous Tainio challenge and was incisive from his introduction.

Giggs 6.5 Vintage Giggs at times; Provided width, composure on the ball and found a red shirt with every pass.


Sunderland:

Fulop 7.0 Made some great saves and could do little with the winner. Solid handling.

Chimbonda 5.5 Had his attacking enthusiasm curbed by a rampant Evra and his defensive skills are rudimentary at best.

Bardsley 5.0 Made a number of errors in his decision-making, but that comes as a result of being out of position.

Ferdinand 7.0 Stood tall and commanding for the visitors; why you-know-who dropped him in recent weeks is a mystery. Competed well with Berbatov, the closest thing United had to a genuine centre-forward.

Collins 6.5 Headed and blocked well as his team were under the cosh. Difficult task marking a front trio that are liable to pop up anywhere.

Yorke 5.5 Probably his last game at the Theatre of Dreams and signed off with a competent display.

Whitehead 7.5 Sunderland's best performer and a contender for man of the match. Tackled anything in red and ran himself into the ground.

Reid 5.5 Looked a little threatening on the rare occasions that Sunderland broke out. United had too much possession to suggest he had a stand-out game.

Malbranque 6.0 Typically for him, he faded as the game wore on. In a game where positive contributions on the Sunderland side were at a permium, he offered little more than the mundane.

Diouf 5.5 Saw a good deal of possession, but most of it was at the edge of his own box. Has a tendency to run instead of pass, contributing to a huge turnover in possession.

Cisse 5.0 Had little ball come his way. Not in the game.

Subs:

Tainio 6.5 Made a few key challenges after slotting into Whitehead's position.

Edwards 5.5 Given a run out but contributed little.

Jones 6.0 As a lone front-man, he had to forage for himself. Won a corner and had the ball in the six-yard box, the only Black Cat to do so.