Man Utd player ratings vs Reading: Mata and Lukaku on target, Romero superb, Chong debut
MANCHESTER UNITED booked their spot in the FA Cup Fourth Round with a comfortable victory over Reading, but which of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's players impressed most at Old Trafford?
Romelu Lukaku then doubled the advantage with a smart finish following Alexis Sanchez’s through ball, rounding Anssi Jaakkola and tucking home from a tight angle.
Reading went close through Danny Loader and Andy Yiodam but stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Romero was on top form to deny the Championship struggles.
Express Sport has rated how the Manchester United players performed during their FA Cup clash with Reading – do you agree?
Manchester United player ratings vs Reading – FA Cup
GK: Sergio Romero – 9
The Argentinian enjoyed an excellent afternoon, denying Harriott twice before standing tall to beat away a Yiadom drive and gather in John Swift’s free-kick.
Romero stayed sharp throughout and pulled off another excellent save when Sone Alum’s miskick looked to be creeping in.
RB: Diogo Dalot – 7
Not the finest performance of his short Old Trafford career, although the Portuguese full-back is still young and has plenty of time to learn.
Needs to look after the ball a bit better and maintain his concentration in defence, but some of his crossing was spot-on.
CB: Matteo Darmian – 6
Drafted in as an emergency centre-back and performed admirably, although the Italian is obviously not a natural.
Interesting to see if he will still move on this month despite his versatility proving so valuable.
Man Utd player ratings: Matteo Darmian was utilised as an emergency centre-back (Image: REUTERS)
Man Utd player ratings: Phil Jones suffered another afternoon to forget (Image: GETTY)
CB: Phil Jones – 5
Shown up by Darmian’s mature display, with the England international looking ragged on occasions.
Meanwhile, another unfortunate picture of the centre-back face-planting is sure to already be a meme.
LB: Ashley Young – 6
Provided plenty of forward momentum, driving to the byline and whipping in a number of dangerous balls.
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Man Utd player ratings: Ashley Young captained the Red Devils to victory (Image: REUTERS)
CM: Scott McTominay – 5
Picked up a nasty-looking head injury early on but battled on gamely.
Avoided a penalty shout for handball and failed to really set the world alight with his display.
CM: Andreas Pereira – 6
Put in a decent shift both defensively and offensively, although his decision making could still be improved upon.
Forced Jaakkola into a great late dave with a fierce strike.
CM: Fred – 5
Had an effort disallowed for offside before Mata’s penalty, but didn’t really influence the game after that.
Man Utd player ratings: Fred produced another underwhelming display at Old Trafford (Image: GETTY)
RAM: Juan Mata – 8
Won the penalty then kept his cool to calm slot home and get the ball rolling.
Looked a class above many of the other players on the pitch with his touch and vision.
LAM: Alexis Sanchez – 7
A bright performance as he continued his recovery from injury, slipping in Lukaku for his strike and also going close himself.
However, the Chilean was then forced off with what looked like a recurrence of his existing hamstring issue.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 7
Caused problems all afternoon and bagged his ninth of the season with a very tidy finish.
A display which won’t have silenced critics – coming against struggling opposition – but certainly showed signs of returning to his old self with pace, strength and decent movement.
Man Utd player ratings: Who do you think stood out against Reading? (Image: buildlineup.com)
SUB: Marouane Fellaini (on for Fred, 62 mins) – 6
Was a calming presence in central midfield, although the Belgian was surprisingly deployed as the most advanced of the midfield trio.
SUB: Tahith Chong (on for Mata, 62 mins) – 6
Unlucky to pick up a booking for a clumsy challenge trip on Omar Richards, but didn't look out of place on his senior debut.
SUB: Marcus Rashford (on for Sanchez, 63 mins) – 5
Despite being in fine form, the England striker comically trod on the ball and fell over after rounding Jaakkola late on.