Alex’s Player Ratings: Chelsea (A)
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Paul Pogba was at his best again on Monday night as he bagged his ninth goal and sixth assist in 12 games to help Manchester United defeat Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup fifth round.
United deservedly claimed their first win at Stamford Bridge since 2012 after Herrera and Pogba’s first-half goals put the visitors in charge at the break, before defensive resiliency helped to see the tie out.
The victory was the ideal vengeance for last season’s defeat in the final to the Blues, and prevented being knocked out by Maurizio Sarri’s side for a third consecutive campaign.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has now won 11 of his 12 games in charge of the Red Devils and is now surely in pole position for the permanent role this summer.
Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw were also stand-outs, but let’s have a look at the full player ratings from a glorious night in West London.
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GK: Sergio Romero - 7
Cemented his place as cup ‘keeper further with another strong performance following on from his display at Arsenal. Denied David Luiz and Pedro, but whilst the game was goalless.
RB: Ashley Young - 6
Indecisive on more than one occasion and the early booking he received gave Hazard bags of confidence. Looked an authority figure again though and is fulfilling his captaincy role well in Valencia’s prolonged absence.
CB: Chris Smalling - 8
Dampened the threat Higuain posed admirably and looked much more confident than he did at Fulham. Could be Lindelof’s best partner going forward.
CB: Victor Lindelof - 7
Was back at his best after last week’s tough test against Kylian Mbappe. Notably came up with a huge block from Hazard’s goal-bound strike in the second-half.
LB: Luke Shaw - 8
One of his best performances this season. Was once again tasked against a tricky opponent in Pedro which limited his attacking contribution, but was pretty much flawless defensively.
CDM: Nemanja Matic - 6
Was treading on thin ice for most of the game after his 15th-minute booking and Chelsea fans were pressing for him to be sent off after a string of fouls in the second half.
CM: Ander Herrera - 8
Future United captain in the making. His passionate celebration with Alexis after full-time was enough to put a smile on fans’ faces but his performance was once again a joy to watch. Deserved goal to top off a great night.
CM: Paul Pogba - 9
Took control from start to finish – something that’s becoming more common in big games – and took Solskjaer’s advice to push further out to the left brilliantly. That led to his superb delivery for Herrera’s opener before he started and finished the move to make it 2-0.
CAM: Juan Mata - 6
Was regularly looking to create in his preferred position but struggled to put his stamp on what was a physical midfield. If he’s to extend his contract at United, he needs to be played centrally though.
ST: Marcus Rashford - 7
Worked his socks off all night and continuously drew fouls in dangerous areas. The awareness shown to wait for Pogba before whipping in a pin-point cross for the second was very impressive.
ST: Romelu Lukaku - 6
One of the less effective players, but you can’t fault his work-rate whilst he was on the pitch. Was playing in midfield and even as part of the back line at times to help United to a deserved win.
SUB: Alexis Sanchez - 5
Was energetic when he came on but United’s main focus was defending the lead.
SUB: Andreas Pereira - 5
Took his chance to get some minutes as a no. 10 well – looked positive.
SUB: Scott McTominay - N/A
Was only on the pitch for a few seconds.
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