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Player Ratings: Chelsea 0-2 Man Utd

Manchester United put in a ruthless performance in a 2-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to book our place in this season’s FA Cup quarter-finals.

Ander Herrera headed us into the lead on half hour following an excellent cross from Paul Pogba to pick him out from the wing. It was the French international who doubled our lead on the stroke of half-time following an excellent cross by Marcus Rashford from down the right.

Chelsea dominated possession and territory in the second half but never actually forced a single save out of Sergio Romero after the break.

Here are how our players fared:

Sergio Romero 8 – A couple of excellent saves early on but barely tested afterwards.

Ashley Young 7 – Picked up a yellow card in the first half but never put himself under any risk of being sent off. Eden Hazard saw a lot of the ball but never really caused much threat.

Chris Smalling 9 – Allowed Gonzalo Higuain a free header early on but otherwise Chris Smalling was solid in defence. In only his second appearance of 2019 the centre-back intercepted a number of passes around our penalty area as well as clearing his lines.

Victor Lindelof 9 – Read the game very well prevented Chelsea from tested Sergio Romero again after the opening 15 minutes. Gonzalo Higuain was kept at bay by our two centre-backs who also blocked efforts from Eden Hazard.

Luke Shaw 8 – Excellent last ditch challenge to deny Pedro an excellent opportunity in the second half. Luke Shaw had the Spaniard in his pocket for most of the game as Sergio Romero was well protected by our back four.

Nemanja Matic 8 – Somewhat fortunate not to receive a second yellow card with two fouls in quick succession at the start of the second half. Nemanja Matic was a good protection in front of our back four as Chelsea dominated possession and territory in the second half but without testing Romero once.

Ander Herrera 10 – Covered every blade of grass, harassing the Chelsea midfield and winning the ball back for us time and time again in a man of the match performance from Ander Herrera. The Spaniard also made an excellent run into the box to head us into a first half lead that we never looked like surrendering.

Paul Pogba 9 – Delightful cross to set up our opening goal and then scored our second just before half-time to all but wrap up the game. Was careless in possession at times but Paul Pogba can be forgiven for that when we’re winning and he’s playing well.

Juan Mata 8 – Some clever passing from the Spaniard on his old stomping ground. Juan Mata looked after the ball well and was creative in the final third.

Marcus Rashford 7 – Provided an excellent cross for Paul Pogba to double our lead on the stroke of half-time. Marcus Rashford tested Kepa Arrizabalaga once himself and made some good forward runs alongside Romelu Lukaku in a front two.

Romelu Lukaku 6 – Ran the lines well but saw little of the ball. Romelu Lukaku’s only effort was blazed into row Z in the first half. Defended corners well. Replaced in the final 20 minutes.

Substitutes

Alexis Sanchez (19 mins) N/A – Replaced Romelu Lukaku to offer a counter-attack threat in the final 20 minutes though no opportunities arose for the Chilean.

Andreas Pereira (16 mins) N/A – A defensive replacement for Juan Mata and some fresh legs to help keep Chelsea at bay for the final quarter-of-an-hour.

Scott McTominay (0 mins) N/A – Brought on for the final two minutes of stoppage time to get another Manchester United appearance next to his name.