Rojo Praised For Derby Display

One of the positives to stem from Sunday's Manchester derby was the excellent performance of Marcos Rojo, who has since been praised by manager Louis van Gaal and Phil Jones.

The Argentinian started the match at left-back in the long-term absence of Luke Shaw and quickly found himself in a personal duel with Kevin De Bruyne, the Belgium international who has excelled for his new manager Manuel Pellegrini since joining the Blues from Wolfsburg in the summer.

On the whole, Rojo got the better of De Bruyne and largely kept him at bay for much of Sunday’s match, repeatedly stealing possession from the City new boy and forcing him to become a peripheral figure in the game, so much so that the City man was switched to the opposite wing 10 minutes into the second half, when Pellegrini introduced Jesus Navas.

It was a particularly impressive performance from Rojo when you consider his lack of match sharpness, having missed the first seven matches of the season in all competitions. Speaking to MUTV after the final whistle at Old Trafford, van Gaal reserved a few words of praise for his defender.

“Rojo played a very good match, not only against De Bruyne but also against Jesus Navas,” the manager said. “He had very good passes and very good crosses so I am very satisfied with him.

“It is only his third game this season; he has hardly played for 90 minutes. It is maybe the first time he has played for 90 minutes. I am very happy that at last he has the condition to play a full match.”

Rojo played alongside Jones in defence, another player who missed the start of the campaign, and the England international was also complimentary when quizzed on the South American’s display.

“I thought Marcos was terrific,” Phil told MUTV. “His passing was great and he was a threat going forward, and he was solid defensively as well. It was a top performance.”