It was the final time when Louis Van Gaal’s side met West Ham United in their FA cup’s quarter-finals second fixture. The Dutch Manager dropped the team’s playmaker Mata and Schneiderlin on the bench as Fellaini and Herrera had their chance.
After that humiliating defeat against the Lilywhites, United looked to have a fresh start in the game. United took the lead in the game in 54th minute through Marcus Rashford. The team capitalized through the mistake of Antonio who foolishly gave the ball away in the danger area, Lingard found Rashford in space who finished the ball into the top corner to give his side a precious lead.
United doubled their lead in 67th minute through Fellaini after a mix up in West Ham’s penalty box where the deflected Martial’s shot found Fellaini and he made it 2 for the Visitors.
West ham reacted quickly through a corner which was taken out on the far post, Caroll heads the ball back in the danger area and Tomkins made no mistake to bring his side into the game.
The game finished 2-1 in favour of visitors and Manchester United are through to the semi-finals of the FA cup.
David De Gea: 8.5/10-
Didn’t had much work to do in the first half but, was very much trouble in the last quarter of the game. The young Spanish gun made no mistake and denied back to back shots from Caroll, Antonio and Noble. If he wasn’t there, United would have been lost for sure.
Timothy Fosu-Mensah: 6.5/10-
The young Dutch did a great job against Tottenham but made many mistakes in the game. Without any doubt, his tackling was solid but he was leaving so much of space at the back while attacking and eventually, Lingard had to cover it up.
Chris Smalling: 7/10-
The English had an easy first half where he was untroubled. He faced a real test in the last few minutes of the game where Andy Caroll, Noble and Payet were causing a real headache but, somehow he managed to keep Caroll quiet. Did lost his marker of Caroll though, which costs the team to concede the goal.
Daley Blind: 6.5/10-
Very obviously, Caroll was targeting Blind all over the game as he was the one who was easy to beat both aerially and physically. Made some great grounded tackles but needed some assistance of Smalling many times in the game.
Marcos Rojo: 6/10-
Had a good game comparatively but still needs to improve a lot. Combined well with Martial in the left wing but his passes were inaccurate. Comparing to his previous performances, he was better today but still not up to his standards.
Michael Carrick: 6.5/10-
Had a decent game, was more aggressive than his natural game. Was booked in the first half and played cautiously. His passes were sticking and a great control of United’s midfield.
Marouane Fellaini: 7/10-
Not many would have expected a good performance from the Belgian but, he actually played well. His tackling was brilliant, was retaining the possession quickly. Started the game as a central midfielder but eventually played most of the time up front. Scored the second goal for Manchester United which sealed the deal for the club.
Jesse Lingard: 7/10-
Jesse played well. Played a big role in United’s first goal and also managed to take couple of chances. Should have scored in the first half to give United the lead. He was also strong and was quick in defending and also covered the spaces left by Fosu-Mensah.
Ander Herrera: 6/10-
Didn’t really had much impact on the game. He was booked for a silly challenge and then, almost got the second yellow but ref decided to keep his card in the pocket. Honestly, I feel Van Gaal should have started Mata instead of Herrera. His tackling though was solid and brought pace in the game.
Anthony Martial: 7.5/10-
He also had a decent game. Did showed his sprinting abilities but didn’t really troubled West Ham’s goalkeeper. It was his shot which was deflected and ended up in a goal, so credit goes to him.
Marcus Rashford: 8/10-
Another great performance by the youngster. Scored the first goal in the game which was rather a difficult one to finish but, he kept his composure and found the top corner of the post through a précised finish and scored his first goal outside Manchester. Showed his excellent dribbling abilities in the first half and provided a ball for his fellow countryman Lingard but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper.