Manchester United 2-1 CSKA Moscow: 5 Talking Points

Scoreline: Manchester United 2-1 CSKA Moscow

Scorers: Vitinho 45', Lukaku 64' and Rashford 66'

Manchester United got more than what they needed on the night as they made sure they made the men from Moscow leave Old Trafford empty-handed and heavy-hearted. Needing only a draw going into the match, Jose's men left their defensive seats back in the dressing room and went for the kill from the get-go.

However, against the run of play, it is CSKA Moscow that woke the scorers up at half time as Vitinho poked home from a Mario Fernandes cross.

United were relentless in the second half and in a 60-second smash and grab, badgered CSKA Moscow and steamed them back down the group table to book a berth in the knockout stages.

All in all, Manchester United can rest their heads and cool their heels off before the weekend derby against Manchester City.

#5 Paul Pogba and Juan Mata bring the swagger to Old Trafford

Paul Pogba brings Manchester United's midfield to bear and he does that with some frolicking ginga swagger. Tonight, in the absence of Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard, Pogba cracked open a fresh few can of tricks with the diminutive Mata.

The Frenchman was a constant presence in attack and his lovely weighted passes often released Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku and Antonio Valencia into acres of space. While they were initially profligate with all the riches on offer, they shed their initial lethargy and came to life, particularly, in the second half.

Paul Pogba's delightful lobbed ball into the centre of the box found Romelu Lukaku who stretched himself out in thin air and poked the ball past Akinfeev to equalize for United.

As for Mata, his nimble touches and astute playmaking skills often dragged CSKA Moscow defenders and midfielders out of their zones. It was Mata who released Rashford on goal for United's second.

While Paul Pogba will be sorely missed at Old Trafford, Jose could maybe look to Juan Mata to set the sparks flying in midfield against City on Sunday. He sure made a solid case for himself tonight.

#4 CSKA Moscow's defence couldn't keep up with United's pace

Romelu Lukaku was immense in attack and got the goal he deserved for all the enterprise he showed. Ignashevich, Vasin and Berezutski struggled but somehow kept things at 0-0 before they went 1-0 up, right on the verge of halftime.

On the wings, Nababkin and Mario Fernandes were outpaced and outsmarted on several occasions by the trickery of Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia.

On a night when United were finding it tough to come up with the final product, it was two lobbed balls into the box that shifted the tide in their favour. As both passes were served into the area, Victor Vasin was caught alone and vulnerable like a deer in the headlights not knowing how to deal with the danger.

United's attackers took time to get to polishing their virtues as they kept wasting one good chance after the other in the first half requiring the Moscow defence to do the bare minimum. But once the quality of the final ball improved, the CSKA defence fell like a deck of cards.

#3 United may have injuries but that doesn't rob them of quality

While there are indispensable cogs to this machine, Manchester United isn't devoid of quality all the way down to the trenches. It is this very same ability that will propel them forward to keep their top players from getting knackered in games of less importance, like this one.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan missed out on a spot on the bench for the 5th time in 6 games as United largely overhauled their side that faced Arsenal at Emirates over the weekend. Ander Herrera and Juan Mata played alongside Paul Pogba in the middle of the park and Marcus Rashford lent more than just a hand to Romelu Lukaku in attack.

Luke Shaw got his first start of the season and made quite a meal of it. He was quick with his feet and pacy going forward and kept pushing CSKA back into their own half. Scott McTominay put in a decent shift in midfield after Ander Herrera was summoned back. Juan Mata and Ander Herrera were impressive and so was Daley Blind who provided good defensive cover and was effective in playing the ball out from the back.

Also, gotta feel bad for Sergio Romero who is a top keeper but there is not one court in this world that will entertain his case because, well, David De Gea.

#2 CSKA Moscow ran into United's defensive wall more often than not

Except for the delightful goal that they all worked to put together and the Dzagoev effort which was brilliantly saved by Romero, CSKA barely looked like a cohesive unit going forward. Often they'd run the ball across the field vying to work the flanks only to stagnate around the final third.

Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Daley Blind kept things solid at the back for most parts and if Luke Shaw wasn't caught napping when Mario Fernandes was played through on the right flank, CSKA will have had to fly back to Russia to nothing to show for.

Coming into the match needing to better FC Basel's result, CSKA were shoved back into their own half for most parts of the game.

One interesting talking point from the game is how more complexities of the deflection rule has come to light and shook us in our seats. When Vitinho's shot deflected off Dzagoev's back and into the goal, he was ahead of the United defenders. But Daley Blind had slid past the touchline in an attempt to block the cross from Fernandes.

However, UEFA decided to gift the goal to Vitinho despite Dzagoev getting a touch. More on that later.

For now, we need to talk about...

#1 Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku are a menace together

Marcus Rashford hadn't scored in 9 of his previous appearances and Romelu Lukaku had found the net only once in his last 6. And the hunger of the two goal-deprived forwards was there for all to see.

Marcus Rashford took the CSKA defenders out for far too many spins with his dancing feet as he frolicked and slalomed his way past them with ease and grace. Romelu Lukaku's intelligent runs and immense presence tormented the CSKA defence.

Lukaku and Rashford combined well with each other and the midfield duo of Pogba and Mata to create several goalscoring opportunities out of which they finished off 2. Lukaku started off the move for Rashford's goal after flicking on a long ball from Sergio Romero for Juan Mata to pick up.

The pace, game intelligence and physical presence that Jose's forwards brought to the game was often a bit much for the opposition defenders to handle and it is the same hunger that the manager will want to see when his side takes on bitter rivals Manchester City on Sunday.

The goals will do them a world of good. With Lukaku and Rashford toying with central defenders and Anthony Martial getting up to his usual savagery on the left flank, United may be, after all, able to pose a considerable threat to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City in the absence of Paul Pogba.

Edited by Amit Mishra