MANCHESTER UNITED survived two VAR scares to secure a huge 2-0 win at Chelsea on Monday night.
Standout performances from Eric Bailly and Harry Maguire complimented the captain’s stunning second-half header after Anthony Martial had put the Red Devils ahead.
Harry Maguire and Dan James were at both ends of the spectrum for Man Utd
But there are still areas for concern as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struggles to get all of his attackers firing.
Here, SunSport’s Marc Mayo hands out his individual verdicts to the victors.
DAVID DE GEA – 6
A happy bystander as Michy Batshuayi flashed shots off target.
AARON WAN-BISSAKA – 7
The defender ventured forward well but initially seemed to be passed up on as a real outlet, but then showed why he should be considered a true attacking threat in this 3-5-2 with a superb assist for the opener.
ERIC BAILLY – 8
Bar an early worry when Pedro nicked possession, the centre-back was a rock on his return. Slick on the ball, vivacious with his blocks and intelligent with his positioning. Like a new signing.
HARRY MAGUIRE – 8
Fans can argue into the night whether he was lucky to escape a red card but the United captain was a behemoth in the air – at both ends.
LUKE SHAW – 7
Happy to maraud forward from his slightly odd left-central-wing-back position. Appeared much more assured than Brandon Williams, who may be on borrowed time when Victor Lindelof is available.
BRANDON WILLIAMS – 6
Appeared targeted by Chelsea when the hosts were at their best. A nervous night for the teenager to learn from.
FRED – 7
A confident display from the Brazilian who drove his team up the pitch nicely.
NEMANJA MATIC – 5
The Serbian was pretty quiet all things considered, unable to keep tabs up with Chelsea’s nippy midfielders.
BRUNO FERNANDES – 6
A tough judgement given Fernandes was superb from set plays, setting up the second goal. But his movement and contribution in open play was found wanting and Solskjaer must expect more.
DANIEL JAMES – 5
James is simply not suited to the central striker role, his pace far from utilised and his slight frame bullied by the opposition defenders.
ANTHONY MARTIAL – 6
Took his goal well but Martial spent too much of the game drifting wide and not posing a threat down the middle – as he did so effectively with a neat glancing header to open the scoring.
SUBSTITUTES:
ANDREAS PEREIRA (On for James, 80) – N/A
ODION IGHALO (On for Martial, 89) – N/A
DIOGO DALOT (On for Fernandes, 89) – N/A
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
