Kyle Walker's own goal was enough as Manchester United kicked off their Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford this afternoon.

The England right-back bundled the ball into his own net on 22 minutes to settle a relatively even contest that saw both sides struggle to create clear-cut chances throughout.

Here, Sports Mole analyses how the players fared at the Theatre of Dreams.

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Goal

Sergio Romero: Pulled off some big saves late on in the game he deputised for the dropped David de Gea. The Argentine commanded his area really well with an assured performance. Fine debut. (7/10)

Defence

Matteo Darmian: Fine debut for the Italian right-back who looks poised to keep Antonio Valencia on the bench for the forseeable future. (8/10)

Chris Smalling: Surprise inclusion after Phil Jones was mostly preferred in pre-season, but Smalling justified his manager today. (7/10)

Daley Blind: Looked ocassionally suspect at centre-back but was not found out today. Might be in future outings. (5/10)

Luke Shaw: Billed as a big season for the young left-back but he did not get it off to a flier. Will undoubtedly improve but not at his best this afternoon. (5/10)

Midfield

Michael Carrick: Replaced by Schweinsteiger on the hour mark but had done little wrong up until that point. United's attackers saw less of the ball once he went off. (6/10)

Morgan Schneiderlin: Mixed bag for the Frenchman, who did some good things and bad things on his competitive debut for the Red Devils. (5/10)

Juan Mata: Relatively anonymous in both halves and that anonymity undoubtedly contributed to the hosts' insipid attack. (4/10)

Ashley Young: Slightly better than Mata on the opposite side of him, but struggled big time with getting the better of Kyle Walker. Quiet, but it was not for the want of trying. (5/10)

Memphis Depay: Requested the number seven shirt but struggled to justify his hype today with a lukewarm debut. Will surely improve. (5/10)

Attack

Wayne Rooney: Lacked consistent service throughout the clash to have any real influence. Should have scored but Walker did it for him. (5/10)

Substitutes

Bastian Schweinsteiger: Could not have asked for a better reception as he was roared on to the field by the Old Trafford crowd, but had a quiet cameo and found himself booked. (5/10)

Ander Herrera: Added something to United's attack but not much. (5/10)

Goal

Michel Vorm: Blameless for the goal and had precious little to do throughout the 90 minutes. (6/10)

Defence

Kyle Walker: Arguably Spurs' best player despite his costly own goal. He kept Ashley Young on a relatively short leash throughout and the margin of defeat probably would have been wider without him. (6/10)

Toby Alderweireld: Fine debut for the big Belgian but both he and Jan Vertonghen were far too high up the pitch for the decisive goal. (6/10)

Jan Vertonghen: Relatively assured performance from the captain alongside his compatriot. Could be a solid partnership this season. (6/10)

Ben Davies: Shackled Juan Mata throughout, allowing the Spaniard very little space in which to work his magic. Could push Danny Rose very close for regular first XI spots. (6/10)

Midfield

Nabil Bentaleb: Cheaply conceded possession to present United with the counter-attack that led to the opening goal. Subbed for Ryan Mason on 54 minutes. (4/10)

Eric Dier: Started in midfield alongside Bentaleb but Dier - who played in defence last season - looked a little out of his depth it has to be said. (5/10)

Moussa Dembele: Forced United into some errors by his high-intesity pressing early on but those moments became less and less frequent. Replaced on 70 minutes. (5/10)

Nacer Chadli: Virtually anonymous throughout by virtue of Matteo Darmian's handling of him. (4/10)

Christian Eriksen: Spurs' best player at the beginning and end of the contest, but the result might have been different had he been influential in the parts inbetween. (5/10)

Attack

Harry Kane: Questions over whether or not he could emulate his 31-goal season last term were never going to be answered today alone, but he seldom looked like a player capable of hurting United. (5/10)

Substitutes

Ryan Mason: Played plenty of hopeful balls into the box but none of them paid off after replacing Bentaleb early in the second half. (4/10)

Erik Lamela: Very little impact in his 20-minute cameo. (4/10)