Manchester United vs. Newcastle: Rating Sir Alex Ferguson's Players

Manchester United drew 1-1 with Newcastle United on Saturday at Old Trafford. I won't be going over the fine points of how that happened.

It might take trained scientists a decade to work out that equation.

Nor will I talk about The Penalty (OK, maybe a little). I know it was a bad call. You know it was a bad call. We're all moving on.

I'm here to dissect the performance of Manchester United's players in what will go down as a desperately disappointing draw.

You might be surprised how I rate them.

Goalkeeper

David De Gea: 7.0

De Gea wasn't too busy, but he made an outstanding stop on Coloccini's bouncing shot midway through the second half. Other than that, he was solid, if unspectacular.

Defenders

Patrice Evra: 5.5

Evra struggled against Obertan in the first half but settled down after the break.

Rio Ferdinand: 6.5

Both he and Vidic were beaten with an over-the-top ball to Ba, who nearly scored. Ferdinand was desperately unlucky to be whistled for the penalty. His challenge was textbook.

Nemanja Vidic: 7.0

With Ferdinand, he was beaten by a simple pass over the top to Ba in the first half. Other than that, however, Vidic turned in his usual strong performance.

Fabio: 7.0

Fabio provided a consistent offensive threat and defended equally well. His performance might earn him some more playing time in the coming weeks.

Midfielders

Ryan Giggs: 6.0

Giggs had an up-and-down performance. His dribbling was strong, and he nearly scored with a cheeky flick late in the first half. But his passing wasn't good enough and, like most of his teammates, he often gave away the ball too easily.

Michael Carrick: 6.5

Newcastle rarely had a chance in this match, and Carrick had a lot to do with that. He broke up play well and tried to contribute where he could offensively. But he, too, gave away the ball too often.

Nani: 6.5

Nani was an offensive threat throughout the match with when he dribbled and crossed.

Ashley Young: 6.0

Young seemed a bit troubled by Newcastle's physicality early, but settled into the match in the second half. He too gave away the ball too often, but made up for it with a number of well-placed crosses in the second half.

Forwards

Chicharito: 7.5 (Man of the Match)

This would be even higher if he'd scored any of his chances. Chicharito got Manchester United's only goal, but he didn't know much about it. He did, however, create several chances, especially in the opening 15 minutes.

He should have scored the winner deep into stoppage time but he couldn't keep himself onside. That was a shame because his performance was excellent.

Wayne Rooney: 7.0

Rooney set up most of Chicharito's early chances and looked dangerous throughout the 90 minutes. His free kick and rebound-shot set up Manchester United's goal.

Substitute

Federico Macheda: 6.5

Macheda provided a big aerial target for United's midfielders and got his head on a number of crosses. He didn't score on any of them, though.