Player Ratings: Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa
Manchester United 1-0 Aston Villa | FA Cup 3rd Round
Manchester United secure a place in the 4th round of the FA Cup after beating Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa It would be fair to say United got away with one as the Reds are still yet to find the rhythm Ralf Rangnick would have hoped for when taking the job.
What they do well though at the moment is keep clean sheets and that’s what won them the game today. Scott Mctominay’s early goal was enough to get United’s FA Cup campaign underway.
Goalkeeper and Defence
David De Gea: 7
Solid performance from De Gea, a deserved a clean sheet despite Villa’s dominance and he looked assured between the sticks, making plenty of good saves.
Diogo Dalot: 7
Dalot impresses more and more every week. As an attacking full-back, he is showing his effectiveness. He didn’t create a lot but the positions he took up were positive.
Embed from Getty ImagesRaphael Varane: 7
Varane did a great job at the back, defending excellently and allowing the Villa attack minimal room in behind. The best compliment of his performance is that it looked as though he didn’t even break a sweat.
Victor Lindelof: 5
Other than the fumbled touch that nearly cost United a goal in the first half, Lindelof put in a decent shift.
Luke Shaw: 6
It is likely that Shaw has reclaimed his first-team spot, as his confidence is growing again. He put in a defensively sound performance today. Although his constant fouling in dangerous areas was frustrating to watch.
Midfield
Fred: 6
Fred was energetic throughout the game, and even registered a fantastic cross-assist. However, surely Fred would benefit massively if Manchester United bought a genuine, quality central defensive midfielder.
Scott Mctominay: 7
Mctominay was arguably United’s best player on the night. He scored a great headed goal that separated the two sides and worked efficiently in keeping the momentum ticking over for the reds.
Embed from Getty ImagesBruno Fernandes: 6
This wasn’t Bruno’s best performance he seems to still resort to his off the cuff “hero-ball” that frustrates fans contantly; however, he did create several chances with his majestic long field passes.
Attack
Marcus Rashford: 4
Unfortunately, Rashford really isn’t up to the pace at this moment in time. He seems to lack confidence and looks completely devoid of ideas on and off the ball. He currently looks a shell of the fresh-faced 18-year-old we fell in love with.
Embed from Getty ImagesEdison Cavani: 5
Cavani worked tirelessly but didn’t sufficiently contribute to much positive play. That being said, the overall team performance wasn’t outstanding, despite the victory.
Mason Greenwood: 5
Greenwood’s decision making was extremely poor, and he arguably should’ve scored during his one-on-one with Emi Martinez, the Villa keeper. He had a number of opportunities to find teammates but opted for the selfish option.
Substitutes
Donny Van De Beek: 6
Donny successfully aided United in seeing the game out, using his energy and intelligence to cause Villa problems.
Jesse Lingard: 5
Lingard was only on for a short period of time and didn’t make a significant impact.
Embed from Getty ImagesAnthony Elanga: 6
Given the short period of time in which he was on the pitch, Elanga impressed tremendously. He won several ariel battles and showed no fear in taking on the Villa defence, using his electric pace to sprint past them.
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