Source: Telegraph
Carling Cup final: player ratings
ASTON VILLA:[LNB]BRAD FRIEDEL: 7 Selected ahead of Carling Cup regular Brad Guzan, but Friedel justified Martin O'Neill's decision. Made great save from Carrick in second-half. [LNB] Related ArticlesCarling Cup finalAston Villa 1 Manchester United 2Vidic's lucky escape baffles O'NeillDid referee cost Villa the Carling Cup?Rooney's swollen knee a concern for EnglandO'Neill huffed and puffed but to no availCARLOS CUELLAR: 7 Cleared off the line when Park hit the post and arguably Villa's most consistent defender before being replaced by Carew. [LNB]JAMES COLLINS: 7 Booked for a crude early challenge on Michael Owen, but he settled down and looked solid alongside the uncertain Dunne. [LNB]RICHARD DUNNE: 5 Mugged by Berbatov for United's first-half goal and struggled to recover his composure after that. [LNB]STEPHEN WARNOCK: 5 Will have slipped down the England pecking order at left-back after being given the runaround by Valencia. Exposed too often. [LNB]ASHLEY YOUNG: 7 His pace and direct running caused United problems down the right flank, but the end product wasn't always as good as the build-up. [LNB]STILIYAN PETROV: 6 The Villa captain struggled to make an impact and he spent most of the game attempting to repel United's midfielders. [LNB]JAMES MILNER: 8 Villa's best player by a mile. Must be a certainty for England's World Cup squad. Wouldn't look out of place in the Champions League. [LNB]STEWART DOWNING: 6 Former Middlesbrough winger should have done more against the unconvincing Rafael, but he failed to take advantage. Booked. [LNB]GABRIEL AGBONLAHOR: 8 His pace will give Vidic nightmares. He tore the United defence to pieces from the moment he won the early penalty. [LNB]EMILE HESKEY: 7 Gave Vidic and Evans a busy afternoon and showed why he will take his place on the England plane to the World Cup. [LNB]SUBS: [LNB]JOHN CAREW: 6 - On for Cuellar 80. Not on long enough to make an impact. [LNB]-----------------------------------------------[LNB]MANCHESTER UNITED: [LNB]TOMASZ KUSZCZAK: 6 Had little to do after Milner had sent him the wrong way from the penalty spot, but selection ahead of Ben Foster was significant. [LNB]RAFAEL DA SILVA: 5 The Brazilian youngster must learn to tone down his challenges. Far too rash at times when attacking the ball. [LNB]NEMANJA VIDIC: 5 Made an awful mess of handling Agbonlahor when he hauled him down for a fourth minute penalty. Struggled all through the game. Booked. [LNB]JONNY EVANS: 6 Didn't look convincing and had a couple of difficult moments against Agbonlahor. Also had to meet the physical challenge against Heskey. [LNB]PATRICE EVRA: 8 Captain for the day, the French defender gave further evidence to support his claims to being the world's best left-back. Booked. [LNB]ANTONIO VALENCIA: 8 Gave Stephen Warnock's England credentials a real test down the right flank, but too his crosses let him down. [LNB]DARREN FLETCHER: 8 Bossed the midfield from the early stages and showed why he is now one of the first names on Sir Alex Ferguson's team-sheet. [LNB]MICHAEL CARRICK: 6 Showed a tendency to hold onto the ball for too long and won't have done much to impress the watching Fabio Capello. [LNB]JI-SUNG PARK: 7 Boundless energy down the left flank and he linked play well, but he showed his frailty in front of goal when he penetrated the Villa box. [LNB]MICHAEL OWEN: 7 Started well, scored a terrific goal and looked a real threat until the injury curse struck again when his hamstring went on 40 minutes. [LNB]DIMITAR BERBATOV: 7 Enigmatic as usual. Looked terrific in patches and then way off the pace in others. How much longer will Ferguson persist with him? [LNB]SUBS: [LNB]GARY NEVILLE: 7 - On for Rafael, 66. Experienced, steadied the ship. [LNB]WAYNE ROONEY: 8 - On for Owen, 41. 8 Scored his fifth header in succession and almost scored a sixth when he headed against the post. [LNB]DARRON GIBSON: 6 - On for Park 85. Second Carling Cup winners' medal in 12 months for the Irishman. [LNB]
