Ruud van Nistelrooy praises five “excellent” Man United players after 1-1 draw vs Chelsea

Ruud van Nistelrooy praised five “excellent” Manchester United players after their 1-1 draw against Chelsea on the weekend.

Manchester United secured a point in their home match against Chelsea on Sunday evening, even after taking the lead with 20 minutes remaining.

Bruno Fernandes netted a penalty following a foul on Rasmus Højlund. However, Chelsea equalised just five minutes later.

United remain in 13th place, recording their worst start to a Premier League season after 10 games with just 12 points.

Despite this, Ruud van Nistelrooy might find some encouragement in the performance of his team, considering Chelsea’s solid form this season and United’s significant challenges.

In particular, the interim manager believed that five of his players put in solid displays against Enzo Maresca’s side.

“I have to say from the back, centre, Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs De Ligt did a great job,” Van Nistelrooy told Sky Sports.

“I think Noussair Mazraoui had an excellent game and Casemiro is doing a great job. Bruno [Fernandes] took the responsibility. He was involved in all the attacks. I don’t think anyone really missed out today.”

Mazraoui, in particular, was very impressive for United and deservedly won the club’s Man of the Match award.

However, it is no surprise that Van Nistelrooy did not mention any of the front three. United were poorer than usual in the attacking third.

Marcus Rashford started the game well but went quiet after he was made to swap wings with Alejandro Garnacho. That seemed a very confusing decision from the interim boss.

Ruben Amorim will have many things that he wants to improve once he arrives at Old Trafford, but making the team score on a more consistent basis will surely be at the top of that list.

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