Manchester United began life under their new interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær with a trip to Cardiff City yesterday evening on the back of a disappointing 3-1 loss to Liverpool last weekend. The Red Devils made a fantastic start to the match when Marcus Rashford scored in the 3rd minute with a powerful free-kick. The visitors doubled their lead in the 29th minute through Ander Herrera’s deflected shot. However, the Bluebirds refused to give up and got a goal back just 9 minutes later courtesy of Víctor Camarasa’s penalty. United scored again in the 41st minute through Anthony Martial’s finish from close range to go into half-time with a commanding two-goal lead.
The second half was more of the same with Solskjær’s men piling on the pressure going forward. Jesse Lingard capped off his fine outing with a goal from the penalty spot in the 57th minute before he scored again in the 90th minute to put the icing on the cake for United. The match finished with a scoreline of 5-1 in favour of the Mancunian giants.
Let’s take a look at how each Manchester United player performed during the contest against the Bluebirds.
GK: David De Gea – 6/10
The Spanish keeper couldn’t do much about Camarasa’s penalty but had a largely untroubled game in goal for the Red Devils.
RB: Ashley Young – 7/10
The English right-back put in a good shift down the right flank. He was a fantastic outlet for United going forward and was defensively sound as well.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 8.5/10
He probably had his best game in a Man United shirt today. Lindelof distributed the ball well from the back and was a commanding presence in Solskjær’s defence.
CB: Phil Jones – 6.5/10
He kept his calm under pressure and defended resolutely to contain the Cardiff attack to just one goal in the match.
LB: Luke Shaw – 7/10
The United left-back linked up well with his teammates down the left wing and was a constant menace inside the Cardiff half.
CM: Ander Herrera – 7.5/10
The Spaniard was full of energy and got fortunate with his strike from long range. His goal turned out to be the turning point of the match as United cruised to a 5-1 victory in the end.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 7/10
The Serbian talent thrived while operating as a defensive midfielder. He broke down numerous Cardiff attacks and set up his teammates well during the match.
CM: Paul Pogba – 7.5/10
The French star was the creative force in midfield and cooked up some glorious chances for his teammates, much to the delight of the away supporters.
RS: Jesse Lingard – 9/10
The English international took up some dangerous positions and was rewarded with two goals on the day. The Bluebirds just couldn’t cope with his late runs into the penalty box which is why Lingard was named as the man of the match.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 8/10
The English youngster made the crucial breakthrough early in the match which gave United enough momentum to go on and seal a comfortable win over Cardiff.
LS: Anthony Martial – 8/10
The French forward got a goal to his name when he provided a cool finish to a fantastic team move by Solskjær’s Man United.
Substitutes:
CM: Fred – 6/10
The Brazilian came off the bench to keep things neat and tidy in midfield.
LM: Andreas Pereira – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
CM: Marouane Fellaini – N/A
The Belgian came on to run the clock down for the Red Devils.
