Manchester United 2-0 Huddersfield Town: Player Ratings

Manchester United v Huddersfield Town - Premier League
Romelu Lukaku broke the deadlock

Manchester United responded to their defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday with a routine victory at Old Trafford against David Wagner's Huddersfield Town.

After a frustrating first-half, the Old Trafford crowd breathed a sigh of relief when Romelu Lukaku volleyed Juan Mata's cross to give Jose Mourinho's side the lead. Alexis Sanchez - making his home debut for Manchester United - made sure of the points with a rebound after his initial penalty was saved by Jonas Lossl.

Here are the player ratings from the game:


Huddersfield Town

Swansea City v Huddersfield Town - Premier League
Can't seem to catch a break

Jonas Lossl - 7

Lossl made some good saves to deny Lingard and Alexis. His penalty save was in vain, as Alexis tapped in the rebound.

Zanka - 6.5

Zanka was rock-solid at the back until United got the lead. His defensive clearances were confident and he was in no mood to give Lukaku any breathing space.

Christopher Schindler - 6.5

Schindler was also well-drilled to face the barrage of United attacks during the game. He was focused and did not concede any clear-cut chances to United.

Terence Kongolo - 6.5

Kongolo was lucky not to be penalized for wiping out Scott McTominay inside the box. Otherwise, it was an impressive defensive rearguard from the January loan signing.

Tommy Smith - 6.5

Smith pressed high up the pitch whenever the Terriers were on the attack, overlapping Luke Shaw and getting the ball into the penalty box from wide. He blocked Alexis' shot brilliantly in the early stages of the second half.

Philip Billing - 6

A yellow card and an apparent injury ended Billing's afternoon after 30 minutes.

Jonathan Hogg - 6.5

Hogg put in the yards in midfield and looked to foil United's attacking instincts during the game with some important interceptions.

Florent Hadergjonaj - 6.5

The Swiss defender played in the middle of the pitch and was disciplined in the second line of defence to frustrate United's pivots, Matic and McTominay. He switched to the right in the second half and made forward runs against the touchline to provide the visitors with some width.

Rajiv van la Parra - 6

Van la Parra made an excellent recovery run to stop Alexis on the charge. He switched flanks with Quaner on regular occasions in an attempt to unsettle United, but could not provide the quality of the final pass.

Collin Quaner - 6

Quaner played on the wing and was mostly resigned to defensive duties as Manchester United were thoroughly dominant. He tried to get the ball out across the flank to give Huddersfield some time on the ball, but United were quick to win the ball back.

Laurent Depoitre - 6

Depoitre was starved of any service during the encounter, cutting an isolated figure as the rest of his teammates stood behind the ball to prevent United from getting a breakthrough. He did do his part though, chasing after balls in hope of winning it and setting up a break.

Substitutes:

Aaron Mooy - 6

Mooy got the ball forward on a handful of occasions for Huddersfield once they fell behind, but United's defenders were not going to be beaten by a through pass or long ball.

Michael Hefele - 4

Hefele came on to shocking effect for Huddersfield, getting himself booked and conceding a spot-kick soon after to give United some breathing space.

Tom Ince - 5

Ince was introduced to add some attacking options to a desperate Huddersfield Town, but he was easily dealt with by the hosts' defenders as he was given no room to move the ball around in the vicinity of the penalty box.

Manchester United

Manchester United v Huddersfield Town - Premier League
Juan Mata was excellent for the hosts

David de Gea - 6.5

De Gea didn't have to make a notable save owing to one-way traffic at Old Trafford.

Antonio Valencia - 7

Valencia was unable to make an impact in the first half as he was double-marked. He gradually grew into the game in the second with his high-press from fullback as Huddersfield began to open up in response to going behind.

Chris Smalling - 7

Smalling made a single defensive header to prevent Smith's cross from finding its target. He read and dealt with any danger Huddersfield's attack was able to provide.

Marcos Rojo - 7

It was a comfortable afternoon for the Argentine defender, not being stretched by any means by Depoitre or Mooy in an attack.

Luke Shaw - 7

Shaw was dangerous coming forward, often the recipient of forward passes that released him into space on the left byline. His final cutbacks from those positions lacked quality, but his intensity in the Terriers' half was the biggest positive of his performance. He didn't have much defending to do on his side of the pitch.

Nemanja Matic - 7

Matic made a number of forward runs to set up United attacks but was constantly denied by Huddersfield's two-lined defence. His passes were accurate, making it an efficient - if not spectacular - performance from the Serbian.

Scott McTominay - 7

The youngster was on the receiving end of hefty challenges from the Huddersfield players that went unpunished. Despite that, he kept his composure and attempted to feed his teammates on the offensive. He, along with Matic, found it difficult to break down a defensively resolute Terriers but his passing was also as efficient as Matic's.

Jesse Lingard - 7

Lingard found himself in goal-scoring positions on a couple of instances, only to be denied by Lossl. He was the focal point of most of United attacks, playing one-twos and making third man runs through the heart of the opposition defence.

Juan Mata - 8

Mata showed brilliant control and vision to create opportunities for the hosts. His defence-splitting pass to release Luke Shaw on the left side was his highlight of the game.

Alexis Sanchez - 7

Making his Old Trafford debut in a United shirt, Alexis was a busy player on the left wing and was a handful for the Huddersfield defence as he made cut-ins and challenged the opposition to one-on-one duels regularly. He lost the ball many times but made up for it with a maiden goal for Manchester United, converting the rebound after his spot-kick was saved by Lossl.

Romelu Lukaku - 7

Lukaku volleyed Mata's cross to relieve the tension across Old Trafford after they had plodded for long periods to get the better of Huddersfield's defensive wall. His first touches and take-downs still leave a lot to be desired.

Substitutes:

Paul Pogba - 7

Pogba was impressive during his half-an-hour stint, drifting the ball around nicely and driving the ball past opposite individuals. His passes to release the wide-men were magnificent and ensured that United ended the game well on top.

Marcus Rashford - 6

Rashford made some decent runs down the right wing but didn't need to make any sort of impact as the game was done and dusted by the time he came on.

Anthony Martial - N/A

Martial came on with 12 minutes to go, with the match already decided as a contest.

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Edited by Kishan Prasad
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