Chelsea 1-0 Man United Player Ratings: Courtois save overrated

Kante celebrates the winner – sportinglife.com

Ander Herrera’s first half dismissal and N’Golo Kante’s second half goal saw Chelsea progress to the FA Cup semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Manchester United – but how did players on both teams rate?

Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois – his only save was from Rashford, for which he was given too much credit. Made himself big one-on-one but had he not saved the shot, hit very much in his vicinity, questions would have been asked. 5

Cesar Azpilicueta – lacked composure in possession in the first half and failed to get the ball into Moses. Rarely tested in a defensive sense. 6
David Luiz – gave the ball away for Rashford’s second half one-on-one chance, but was otherwise commanding at centre-back. 7
Gary Cahill – one or two mistakes when closed down by Rashford in the first half and could have stood his ground better for the youngster’s second half chance. 5

Victor Moses – quiet in an attacking sense, marked out of the game by Young at times. Never let the winger get in behind though and Chelsea’s patient probing did not require Moses’ usual attacking surges. 6
N’Golo Kante – capped a typically tenacious display with a not-so typical second half winner – a sweet, placed effort from range. 8
Nemanja Matic – his mixed first half performance gave weight to the notion that Fabregas was unlucky to be dropped. Kept shooting from questionable areas. 5
Marcos Alonso – didn’t get forward too much and was pinned back by the more athletic Valencia. 4

Willian – did not provide the same pace as Pedro in the first half but came alive after the break and his snapshot forced a good save from De Gea. 7
Diego Costa – isolated for much of the first half. Could not contact Willian’s centre and headed over from a near post corner. 6
Eden Hazard – Chelsea’s biggest threat, carrying the team forward at times in the first half. Drew fouls including Herrera’s red card and created openings single-handedly. 8

Cesc Fabregas (on 81)
Kurt Zouma (on 89)
Michy Batshuayi (on 90+4)

Manchester United

David De Gea – a couple of key saves from Hazard and Cahill in the first half, then was even busier after the break. 8

Phil Jones – a lot of challenges on Hazard but did some good last-ditch defending in the second half. 6
Chris Smalling – gave the ball away to Hazard in a dangerous area on 15 minutes but after that, he made some crucial blocks. 7
Marcos Rojo – lucky not to have been booked, but his defensive aggression was a big part of why the Red Devils did not fall further behind. 8
Matteo Darmian – solid first half and effectively guarded against one Chelsea breakaway in the second half. 6

Antonio Valencia – showed great athleticism throughout, including one lung-busting 40-yard run to clear an opposing cross. A touch limited on the technical side. 5
Ander Herrera – gave away too many silly fouls, which ultimately cost him and the team. 2
Paul Pogba – one excellent ball over the top for Rashford was his one good moment. Did not show enough quality in possession to make up for a lack of defensive awareness, which made him unsuited to a two-man midfield. 3
Ashley Young – always came onto his right foot despite playing on the left. Worked hard but was wasteful from set pieces and tired in the latter stages. 4

Henrikh Mkhitaryan – worked hard and his 35th minute withdrawal was dictated by circumstance, rather than performance. 6
Marcus Rashford – pressed at the right moments and caused problems with his pace. However, his finishing touch eluded him when one-on-one in the second half. 5

Marouane Fellaini (on 37) – looked defensively in tune and carried out his instructions seamlessly. Not universally rated by one can see why Mourinho is a fan. 7
Jesse Lingard (on 81)