Manchester United advanced to the last 16 of the Emirates FA Cup after seeing off Championship side Derby County on an entertaining Friday night at the iPro Stadium. Wayne Rooney’s glorious finish in the 16th minute broke the deadlock for the Red Devils, before George Thorne took full advantage of a defensive mistake by Chris Smalling to level matters for the Rams.
Daley Blind’s accurate side-footed finish from a Jesse Lingard ball restored United’s lead. Though Derby rallied late on to force a lucrative Old Trafford replay, it was Juan Mata’s one touch finish from an Anthony Martial pass which wrapped up the tie for Manchester United and eased some of the media pressure ratcheting up on manager Louis van Gaal.
We observe each player’s performance on the pitch on Friday night and assign them a rating on a scale from 1-10:
Derby County
Scott Carson – 6
Made a couple of routine saves, but could do nothing to keep any of Manchester United’s goals out. Not a night the former Champions League winner would want to take any positives out of.
Cyrus Christie – 6
Was absolutely blown away by the pace and technical brilliance of Anthony Martial on the wing. He did test Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on a few occasions when he advanced upfront, but Martial’s performance was enough for Christie to decide that he had to wipe this game out of his memory as soon as possible. He laid on the floor after being beaten by Martial to set up Juan Mata’s goal, suggesting that he had tolerated enough humbling in a single game of football.
Richard Keogh – 6
A poor performance from the masked defender Richard Keogh, who struggled to read the link-up play between the trio of Martial, Rooney and Juan Mata. One of the few to stand off Wayne Rooney for his superb opener. An average outing for the 29-year-old.
Jason Shackell – 6.5
A slightly better performance from Shackell compared to his centre-back partner. He made a couple of important clearances to stop Wayne Rooney from meeting crosses flying in from the wing. Could have done better to read Jesse Lingard’s ball across the box for Daley Blind to slot home.
Stephen Warnock – 7
An inspiring performance from the veteran full-back Stephen Warnock. Apart from thwarting Jesse Lingard and Guillermo Varela on the wing, he made an amazing clearance to deny Wayne Rooney a certain tap-in from two yards out. He drove his team forward to force the issue once his side went behind, testing Varela’s qualitites as a fullback on a number of occasions. Understandably saw age catching up with him in the late stages of the game, with fatigue affecting his influence on the game.
Jacob Butterfield – 6.5
Playing in right central midfield, Butterfield was instrumental in helping Derby County’s counter charge in the first half once Manchester United were dispossessed. His intensity somewhat faded away in the second half once Michael Carrick came on and brought Manchester United’s midfield together.
George Thorne – 7
A memorable night for George Thorne, who was the engine behind Derby County’s counter-attacking football whenever they were gifted the ball by some sloppy Manchester United passing. Had the presence of mind to run into the void left by Chris Smalling to latch onto an accurate chip pass from Chris Martin to slam home and cancel out Wayne Rooney’s opener.
Bradley Johnson – 6
The former Norwich man could not influence the game as he would have liked, failing to make that decisive pass to cut the United defence open. A pass percentage of 63% reflected his inability to get the better of Morgan Schneiderlin in midfield.
Tom Ince – 6
Partnered up well with Cyrus Christie on the right wing, keeping Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on his toes whenever the ball was in the Manchester United half, but failed to make that key cutting approach to the bye-line to worry the Manchester United defence. A promising but ultimately fruitless performance by the 23-year old.
Chris Martin – 6.5
A wonderful chip through-ball to send George Thorne on his way to scoring Derby’s equaliser does not hide an otherwise ineffective display by the striker. With Derby sitting back, he had no support up front. He should have scored when clean through on goal late in the first half, but a poor touch allowed Chris Smalling to get that last-ditch tackle spot-on.
Nick Blackman – 6
A few pacey runs down the left-wing apart, winger Nick Blackman struggled to exert any meaningful pressure on Guillermo Varela, who was up to the challenge of stopping himself from getting dribbled past. His only opportunity came from a header from a cross from the right, easily saved by David de Gea. Was substituted off early in the second half.
Substitutes
Abdoul Camara – 5.5
Replaced Nick Blackman in the 59th minute to bring the Rams back in the game, but – like Blackman – failed to get the better of Varela on the wing.
Johnny Russell – 5.5
Came on in place of an exhausted George Thorne in the 76th minute, but Derby’s challenge was fading fast by then. Didn’t get the required gametime to stamp any meaningful authority on the game.
Jeffrey Hendrick – 5.5
Thrown on as an advanced midfielder in the 76th minute in an attempt to force a replay, but then there was a certain Michael Carrick in front of him. No chance.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 6.5
A couple of mainstream saves apart, there was largely nothing for the star goalkeeper to do all night. He was heavily exposed thanks to Chris Smalling’s absence in defence which led to the goal.
Guillermo Varela – 7
A night of real progress for the young fullback, who succeeded in the challenge of keeping Nick Blackman quiet. Was given a few testing moments by Stephen Warnock, but he reacted to them professionally thanks to his confident tackles. He made a few purposeful advancing runs down the flanks as well, confining Blackman to his own half for most of the game.
Chris Smalling – 6.5
A mixed day for the 26-year old, whose defensive error resulted in Derby’s equaliser. He made up for that in style though, making a wonderful last-man tackle to impede Chris Martin from pulling the trigger. Overall, a strong performance by the centre-half.
Daley Blind – 7.5
An amazing performance from the makeshift centre-back. He kept out most of the crosses coming in from Tom Ince on the right-wing. He was also responsible for foiling most of Derby’s counter-attacks led by George Thorne and Jacob Butterfield. A smart finish from a Jesse Lingard ball across the box to restore Manchester United’s advantage capped off a phenomenal night for the Dutchman.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson – 7
Linked up well with Anthony Martial on the left to help him make those mazy runs towards the left bye-line. Defensively strong as well, tracking down most of Cyrus Christie and Tom Ince’s runs down the flank.
Morgan Schneiderlin – 6.5
A bit sloppy from the Frenchman, who gave the ball away on a couple of occasions to allow Derby to set up a counter attack. A 100% tackle success rate, however, ensured Derby were unable to get that final through ball right despite winning possession in the middle of the pitch.
Marouane Fellaini – 6.5
Another meagre performance from the Belgian, who was guilty of losing the ball in important positions to allow Derby to create goal-scoring opportunities on the break. He asked too much from his wingers with meaningless long-balls. He gets extra ratings just for his strength to win aerial duels and thwart the likes of Bradley Johnson and George Thorne.
Jesse Lingard – 7
A good performance from the winger, whose fine ball whizzing across the box resulted in Manchester United’s second goal. That apart, he made a number of quality crosses to test the centre-back duo of Jason Shackell and Richard Keogh. A good partnership with Guillermo Varela on the right was instrumental in Manchester United continually creating chances upfront.
Juan Mata – 7.5
A performance which may have convinced Louis van Gaal that Juan Mata’s best position is in a number 10 role behind the striker. He linked up excellently with Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney to create all sorts of headaches for the Rams’ defenders. His vision to make that incisive pass to Wayne Rooney upfront was pleasing to the eye. He may just have played himself back into the starting line-up in the Premier League thanks to that display on Friday night.
Anthony Martial – 9
He literally stole the show at the iPro Stadium with his quick feet and ease with which he continued to help himself into the Derby penalty area. He slalomed past right-back Cyrus Christie each time the duo locked horns. Had it not been for some lacklustre finishing, Martial may have easily had 4 or 5 assists to his name by the end of the game. His dribble past Christie to assist Juan Mata for Manchester United’s third goal sent the right-back to the floor – very typical of a WWE scene. If he continues to beat players with such ease in every game, one can be assured that this lad has the potential to become one of European football’s top drawer wingers.
Wayne Rooney – 8
The skipper is a striker in form and his brilliant bending finish from the edge of the box in the 16th minute proved just that. Could have easily scored another but for a last-ditch Stephen Warnock clearance. 6 goals in 6 games now for the 30-year old – an extended run will prove to be invaluable in an attempt to get Manchester United’s stuttering season back on track.
Substitutes
Michael Carrick – 6.5
Replaced Schneiderlin after 74 minutes to shut up shop. Did that job extremely well, passing the ball around nicely and bringing that calming influence to the whole Manchester United midfield.
Ander Herrera – N/A
Came on in place of Juan Mata with just 6 minutes to go. Not enough time to make a mark.
