The Red Devils came from behind to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after beating Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at Edwood Park on Sunday. Danny Graham gave the hosts a surprise lead, but Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic ensured that Jose Mourinho’s side continued their impressive winning run.
Manchester United Player Ratings
Sergio Romero -6/10- The Argentine shot-stopper made a few decent saves to deny Blackburn doubling their lead but also flapped at a few balls that came his way, didn’t look entirely convincing and commanding in the air.
Marcos Rojo- 6/10- Could have done much better to not allow Emnes the time to turn and pass for Blackburn’s opener but got better as the game progressed.
Chris Smalling – 5.5/10- Got caught absolutely flat-footed when Danny Graham scored the opener, wasn’t his best of performances, but improved later on in the game and put in a decent shift.
Matteo Darmian -6/10- On a whole, defended well against Feeney, but allowed his man to swing in some dangerous crosses into the penalty area.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7/10- Was a mixed game for the Armenian international as he wasn’t at his best in terms of end product, however, he still managed to provide the assist for Rashford’s goal with a superb through ball.
Michael Carrick-7/10- Sat in front of the United defense and played a very calm and intelligent game, controlled the tempo of his side’s midfield, also defensively resolute when he needed to be.
Ander Herrera-7/10- Imposed himself on the game, had a few shots off target but improved after the break. His energetic engine in the midfield got him more space in the opponents half as Blackburn began to tire.
Jesse Lingard-6/10- Made positive attacking runs into the box when cutting in from the flanks but his poor passes let him down, he also missed a glorious chance to put his side ahead with a header.
Ashley Young -7/10- Was one of United’s better players, defended and attacked equally well on his side of the field and did a really good job throughout.
Anthony Martial- 6/10- Was marked out for almost the entirety of the game, also delivered poor crosses from left-hand side whenever he had the ball, an ineffective game for the Frenchman.
Marcus Rashford-7/10- Got United back on level terms with a well-composed finish and only looked more dangerous attacking from the left after getting on the score sheet.
Substitutes
Juan Mata -5/10- Was used to just reinforce the attack but could not provide too much in the limited time he had on offer.
Paul Pogba-7.5/10- Came on for Lingard and picked out a lovely pass for Ibrahimovic to score. Made an immediate impact and was highly threatning.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic-8/10- The big Swede scored the winning goal after a brilliant link up with Pogba, he found the corner of the net to send his team through to the quarter finals.
Blackburn Rovers Players Rating
Jason Steele-7/10- Was easily beaten by Rashford for the first goal, but made amends with a string of fine saves throughout the match until he could not keep out Ibrahimovic’s late strike.
Charles Mulgrew-6/10- Was initially very good with his ball distribution but often got caught by United on the attack in which he allowed them huge amounts of spaces to work with.
Gordon Greer-5/10- The defender was always going to find himself facing up a good line of attackers and he did a good job on most of the occasions, but he too was caught out on several occasions when United pressed forward.
Derrick Williams-6/10- Was not very useful as a defender as he had a few problems dealing with Ashley Young, but sent in some decent crosses in the attacking third of the field.
Craig Conway-7/10- Defended well for the majority of the game and was also good on the attack. Never really stopped running and put in a great shift for his side.
Darragh Lenihan-5/10- Managed to frustrate United’s attack for a long time until he was caught off guard by Ibrahimovic’s run which led to the winning goal.
Liam Feeney-6/10- One of Blackburn’s attacking threats that increased in stature the later end of the match, made use of the spaces available in the United back-line.
Jason Lowe-6/10- Had a surprisingly easy game as he was staying with Martial the whole time and barely allowing him any space to work with and also made a few darting runs forward.
Marvin Emnes-7/10- Probably the biggest threat for United as he thoroughly impressed with the ball at his feet. Turned Rojo to feed a pass to Graham for the opening goal.
Danny Graham- 6/10- Managed to get his goal after Smalling’s slight fumble, but found it very difficult to muster up anything ever since, struggled to carve any openings later on.
Substitutes
Connor Mahoney-6/10- As soon as he was brought on, he made an impact and was involved in creating all of Blackburn’s attacks.
Willem Tomlinson-6/10- Put in a decent shift after coming on as a sub as he tried his best to force a late goal for his side.
Anthony Stokes-5/10- Thought he drew his team level only to be flagged rightly for offside as soon as he was about to celebrate.