Anyone who watched Man United’s 3-1 defeat at Watford knows Wayne Rooney didn’t play well.
In fairness to the skipper, he wasn’t alone. Several of Jose Mourinho’s men were poor, as a hugely disappointing United side suffered their third loss in a week.
However, there was a very good reason Rooney was the chief target of internet mockery following the Red Devils’ latest setback. It was because he was almost UNBELIEVABLY bad.
If you don’t believe us, just take a look at Rooney’s stats from the match at Vicarage Road. Judging by these numbers, it may have been Wazza’s worst day in a United shirt…
1. He took nine corners/free-kicks – but only created a chance for United with TWO of them.
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2. He didn’t create a single chance from open play.
Laurence Griffiths
3. He didn’t play a single through ball.
Getty
4. He didn’t ‘take on’ an opponent, so never actually went past a Watford player.
Reuters
5. He didn’t have a shot on target.
Man Utd via Getty
6. In fact, he only managed one shot OFF target.
Matthew Peters
“But wait!”, we hear the Wazza fans cry. “He wasn’t playing as a striker! You can’t judge him purely on his attacking stats!”
Fair enough. Let’s look at what he did defensively…
7. He didn’t make a single tackle. Not one!
Matthew Peters
8. He went up for three ‘aerial duels’ – and lost two of them.
Action Images via Reuters
9. In fact, his entire defensive contribution amounted to one interception, one block… and committing one foul.
Matthew Peters
We can still hear the voices of the Rooney fan club pleading their man’s case. “But he passed the ball around, right? He was still spreading the play, right?”
Well, let’s look at his passing stats.
11. He played 40 passes, completing 33 of them.
Laurence Griffiths
Which doesn’t sound TOO bad, until you find out that…
12. 27 of the 33 successful passes he played either went sideways (12) or backwards (15).
Reuters
13. Which meant he only successfully passed the ball FORWARDS on six occasions. In 90 minutes. That is once every quarter of an hour.
Man Utd via Getty Images
