Bogdan β 8 This man played at the highest level against United. Although he conceded three goals, it was largely due to him that the score did not look more embarrassing. His spectacular save to deny Wayne Rooney from the penalty spot was legendary.
Steinsson β 7 Was given a torrid time by Nani in the first half and had a heart in his mouth moment when he brought down the Portuguese in the box, but the ref waived play on to his relief. In the second half, this guy turned in a far better performance as he made some crucial last ditch challenges on Wayne Rooney and even had a header cleared off the line by Rafael.
Knight β 7 Was lucky to be on the pitch after he committed a professional foul in the box with Danny Welbeck clean through on goal in the 20th minute of the game. The ref awarded United a penalty but let Knight remain on the pitch. Knight clearly upped his game after the penalty incident as he kept a marauding Wayne Rooney in check for the rest of the game more or less successfully.
Wheater β 6 Filling in for the departed Gary Cahill was going to be a tough job and although Wheater played reasonably well, Boltonβs defense was quite poor. Made quite a few challenges and clearances, however, Wheater could not prevent his team from conceding the first couple of goals.
Ricketts β 3 Luis Valencia completely exposed the Bolton full-back. Ricketts will want to forget this game in a hurry after he was completely beaten for pace as well as ideas by Unitedβs Ecuadorian winger.
Eagles β 6.5 This man looked quite lively in the middle and Bolton looked the most dangerous when the ball was at his feet. However, the occasions were quite few and far between as United succeeded in shutting them out of the game.
Muamba β 5 For once, I expected this guy to try and get at the United midfielders more than he did. Failed to win the duel against Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick in the middle of the park. Left a lot to the imagination.
Reo-Coker β 4.5 This man is not good at playing attacking football. At best, he could be described as an average player and Owen Coyle had no business spending on a sub-standard bloke this summer. His performance was quite bleak.
Petrov β 6.5 Martin Petrov was the one man whom you expected to turn the tie around with the score at 1-0. He came perilously close to produce a moment of brilliance as he struck a thunderous volley β only to see Rafael put his body on the line and get rid of the danger.
Mark Davies β 7 Worked tirelessly all night but did not have anything to show for his efforts. Took a lot of trouble to defend deep in spite of playing as a forward.
Ngog β 5 Poor outing from the former Liverpool man. He had the ball on numerous occasions but lost possession on a number of occasions and never really troubled the United defense.
Substitutes
Riley, Pratley, Tuncay β N/A