Fresh Football Fresh quotes, opinion and reaction to the beautiful game.
These are Fresh Football’s ratings for the FA Cup Quarter-Final tie between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea
Thibaut Courtois – 7
The Belgian came up with a crucial stop in the second period, denying what would have been Manchester United’s equaliser through Marcus Rashford’s left-footed strike at goal.
César Azpilicueta - 6
Impressive at the back, less so going forward.
David Luiz – 7
Luiz was able to boss the circulation of possession, even throughout United’s sharpest spells.
Gary Cahill – 6
Noted as the weak link in Chelsea’s backline, exemplified by the rare surrender of possession in sight of United’s pressing traps, but such pressure was eventually eased on the ex-Bolton Wanderers man.
Victor Moses – 6.5
The former Crystal Palace and Wigan Athletic winger got up and down the flank well, despite it being crowded by a defensive-looking United line-up.
N’Golo Kanté – 8
The man of the match, N’Golo Kanté proved to be the decisive difference between the two FA Cup hopefuls with his goal from range.
Nemanja Matic – 6.5
Positive and tidy in possession, which boded well for Chelsea’s game plan in the second half.
Marcos Alonso – 6.5
Another to put in a decent performance, as his influence on proceedings grew in the second half.
Willian – 7
Sharp, direct and unlucky not to have earned himself a goal and assist along the way.
Eden Hazard – 8
Along with Kanté, Eden Hazard was as expressive as ever in the final third, escaping the aggressive press-traps from Man United and inflicting lasting damage.
Diego Costa – 5.5
This wasn’t the Diego Costa we’ve become accustomed to seeing in recent times, taking the bait when embroiling himself in physical battles with Marcos Rojo and missing a couple of dead-cert goals on another day.
Subs:
Cesc Fabregas – 6
Accentuated Chelsea’s dominance after coming on in the second half.
Kurt Zouma – N/A
Michy Batshuayi – N/A
Manchester United
David De Gea – 7.5
The Spaniard was the main reason why Manchester United kept Chelsea away from the lead in the first half, as the Blues dominated proceedings following Ander Herrera’s red card.
Antonio Valencia – 5
Plenty of fouls coming from a man who was visibly frustrated with his team’s performance. Antonio Valencia was a poorer player, as a result.
Phil Jones – 6
The Englishman was fairly sound at pressing higher up the pitch in the early stages, but Eden Hazard and co. soon had his number, as he succumbed to mistimed tackles.
Chris Smalling – 6
Few complaints hang over the centre back’s head as far as the result is concerned, but as a captain, and United boss José Mourinho also joins him in this equation, Chris Smalling perhaps could have done more to prevent his teammates from losing their cool in battle.
Marcos Rojo – 5
Rash and aggressive, Marcos Rojo was another to tread on a fine line with regards to his discipline.
Matteo Darmian – 5.5
Mirroring Phil Jones’ duties in pressing a little higher up the pitch, almost like a fourth centre back, Darmian also collected his fair share of failed attempts.
Ander Herrera – 5
Man United fans may bemoan Michael Oliver’s decision to red card the midfielder in the first half, especially after such a positive impact in the early exchanges, but the visitors should also be disappointed in Herrera’s foolish actions just seconds after the referee’s general warning.
Paul Pogba – 5
Little inspiration came from the French playmaker, in particular after being paired up with Marouane Fellaini.
Ashley Young – 4.5
Totally retracted, whereas Chelsea’s preference to attack down their own left-hand side saw Young come into the picture at a sporadic rate.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 5
Appeared fairly lively in and around the box, but the Armenian star was the one to be hooked early in response to Herrera’s red card.
Marcus Rashford – 5.5
Kept Chelsea on their toes, but the striker will be disappointed to have not finished a very good chance he managed to fashion for himself in the second period.
Subs:
Marouane Fellaini – 4.5
The Belgian never got into the game, much to United’s detriment.
Jesse Lingard – N/A
