A striking comeback was expected and the fans got some of that, at least. On the remembrance of the 60th year of the Munich Air Disaster, Manchester United dominated Huddersfield Town in the game and came up with three points. Though the first half lacked some quality, the team gelled together better in the latter part of the game and posed a greater threat to the compact Huddersfield defence.
Goals: Romelu Lukaku- 54’; Alexis Sanchez 68’
David de Gea: 7/10
Hardly tested. Kept the danger at bay a couple of times when required; good enough to earn a clean sheet in his 300th appearance.
Antonio Valencia: 6/10
The captain stayed strong defensively. He made some good runs and provided accurate deliveries inside the box.
Chris Smalling: 7/10
Smalling was astute with his challenges and read the game well from the back. Was more assured with his tackles and capped off a good performance.
Marcos Rojo: 7/10
Rojo cleared some hopeful deliveries by Huddersfield with utmost ease. He was extremely strong aerially and held his end well.
Luke Shaw: 6/10
As I wrote ahead of the match, Shaw provides an incredible balance between defence and attack that someone like Young doesn’t. Again today, Luke Shaw made some telling runs into the opposition box but tracked back to thwart any potential attacking threats.
Nemanja Matic: 7/10
The Serbian dropped deep and built up play from there. He won the ball back and used his slick passing skills to initiate attacks from deep midfield.
Scott McTominay: 7/10
Provided a chance to start ahead of Pogba, McTominay distributed the ball well. He joined the dots in the midfield and started off attacks by showing positive intent going forward.
Juan Mata: 8/10
Mata was the creative source throughout his stay as his touches, passes and crosses into the box created many goal scoring opportunities for the team. Showcased his importance yet again as Mourinho needed his creativity to break down a resolute Huddersfield defence.
Jesse Lingard: 6.5/10
Got behind the defenders with his clever running and off the ball movement. Unlucky to miss out on a couple of goals as his shots were aimed directly at the keeper.
Alexis Sanchez: 8/10
Though the Chilean lost the ball a record 32 times, his intent and urge to win the ball back was praiseworthy. He created chances with his ability to unlock the defence with some precise passes and bagged a deserving goal in front of the Stretford End too.
Romelu Lukaku: 6.5/10
Lukaku needs to improve his off the ball movement. He scored a crucial goal with a neat finish but there need to be some obvious improvements in his game.
Substitutes:
Paul Pogba: 7/10
After being benched for an hour, the Frenchman came on and linked up well with Sanchez on some occasions.
Marcus Rashford: 6/10
Used his pace to trouble the backline but could not churn out something noteworthy.
Anthony Martial: 6/10
Played up front for around 20 minutes; might be an indication of things to expect from Jose.