CSKA Moscow 1-4 Manchester United: Player Ratings

On a relatively cosy night in Russia, Manchester United ran riot all over the home side, CSKA Moscow, beating them by 4 goals to 1.

The Red Devils came gun blazing, getting on the score-sheet inside of first 4 minutes and adding 2 more by the half an hour mark, courtesy of the prolific Romelu Lukaku scoring twice on either side of an Anthony Martial penalty. The Russian outfit had the rare off-chance but were largely toothless as David De Gea maintained his poise for the majority of the game.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan added the fourth one around the hour mark as the visitors, especially the mercurial Martial, continued to dominate throughout, with the home side managing to score a late consolation in the dying minutes of the game, courtesy of a strike by the super sub youngster Konstantin Kuchaev.

Here are the player ratings:-

CSKA Moscow

Akinfeev was critical to maintaining a degree of respect for his side with heroic saves

Igor Akinfeev - 5/10

Akinfeev was one of the best CSKA players, which is saying something considering the fact that he got hammered with 4 goals. Early on, he made a marvellous save against Mkhitaryan's shot but still ended up conceding 3 in less than 30 minutes. Fair play to the goalkeeper, if not for him the Krasno-sinie might have been behind by double figures.

Mario Fernandes - 5/10

Even though Fernandes was caught up many times up front, he managed to muster good link up in attack with Golovin at times, which again, barely amounted to anything.

Viktor Vasin - 4/10

Vasin had a horrible time against a phenomenal Martial, with the latter running past him at times like a breeze. He should have done better to block the cross for the third goal but could barely be blamed alone as his entire defence was at fault for the outcome.

Vasili Berezutski - 3/10

His defensive back three fell into disarray from the get go as they conceded 3 goals in the first half itself. Berezutski's horror compounded when his tame attempt at clearance let Lukaku score the third goal. Martial and Mkhitaryan ran riot all over him and he was found out terribly for the 4th goal also.

Sergei Ignashevich - 4/10

The veteran defender had a terrible time with Lukaku a constant pain in his side. After losing out on the Belgian twice, which led to goals, the Russian enforcer was constantly occupied by the trickery of Martial and ended his night on the worst possible note.

Georgi Shchennikov - 4/10

After being troubled by Young throughout the first half, he stupidly felled Mkhitaryan for a penalty. As the game dragged on for his team, he could barely keep up with the electric passing of the opposition.

Alan Dzagoev - 5/10

The Russian veteran nearly equalized immediately after conceding the first goal and was one of the more potent threats up-front. Like his entire team, he was left flustered and unable to work his skills into the game.

Pontus Wernbloom - 4/10

A spectator for the majority of the match, he was plauged by a vibrant Mkhitaryan throughout the game and couldn't keep up with Herrera's one-touch passing. Unable to clamp down the aforementioned Armenian, he got himself an early yellow in the second half.

Golovin was often the only bright spark in an ineffective performance from the home side

Aleksandr Golovin - 6/10

His shooting was above average but still couldn't test De Gea early on with a few rare chances his team could manage. His helplessness at going down to 3 goals was evident, as his reckless challenge on Herrera put him in the referee's book. In spite of that, he was the heart of most Koni attacks and even got an assist for his perseverance.

Fedor Chalov - 5/10

His pressure upfront kick-started a great move for CSKA early on but like the rest of the evening for his team, barely anything came to fruition. His two good shots were thwarted by two equally great saves from De Gea and the teenager finished off his quiet evening with nothing of substance to go along with it.

Vitinho - 5/10

Vitinho took a couple of tame shots but that was all he could muster for large parts of the game. Moreover, the Brazilian earned himself a yellow for a silly challenge on Bailly, adding to his frustration of being unable to test De Gea's goal effectively.

Substitutes

Timur Zhamaletdinov - 5/10

The youngster was brought on with 20 minutes to go to help his team scale back from 4 goals down and he had little to no effect on that outcome, often isolated from his own midfield.

Georgi Milanov - 5/10

Even though Milanov came on with 20 minutes to go, he was largely ineffective as United's crisp passing shut him out of the game.

Konstantin Kuchaev - 6/10

The youngster got a nod to come on with 5 minutes to go and had an immediate effect, scoring the consolation with a near finish between De Gea's legs. Super-sub indeed.

Manchester United

David De Gea - 8/10

De Gea was largely untroubled yet resolute when called into action in the first half. A sleepy defence let his clean sheet slip away but apart from that, the Spaniard was impeccable.

Ashley Young - 8/10

A well-balanced performance for the captain of the day. His forward plays were constructive to the attacks and on the defensive front, he was barely called into action.

Eric Bailly - 7/10

After defending resolutely for 89 minutes, which included some beautifully well-timed tackles and incessant man-tracking, Bailly fell asleep for the opposition to score the consolation.

Victor Lindelof - 8/10

Lindelof seemed to be much more capable on his two feet after another start. He could block the all too infrequent shots and was largely decent in the changed 3-man defence. Couldn't complain much from the big Swede.

Chris Smalling - 7/10

At the heart of the 3 man defence, Smalling played a relatively chill game, barely ever being called into action. But when he was, his blocking was solid and he was able to pressurize the opposition attackers into making frequent mistakes, though questions may be asked about his off the ball placement.

Daley Blind capped off an all-round performance in Russia

Daley Blind - 7/10

Blind had a stellar game at left wingback roke, thoroughly enjoying the forward attacking license given to him. His link up with Martial and Matic was a joy to watch and more often than not, he tracked back and prevented Moscow from breaking out from his side.

Ander Herrera - 8/10

Herrera's constant movement was a delight to watch, helping United rotate the ball with poise and precision. His through balls were magnificent, kick-starting his side's attacks and also breaking up opposition play at will.

Nemanja Matic - 8/10

Matic stopped a lot of initial opposition attacks with his impeccable interceptions. What went unnoticed and was unparalleled was his down-channel passing, with one pass nearly setting up Damian much later in the match which should've amounted to more. As the Serb continues to grow stronger in the role, his importance to the team solidifies even further.

Henrik Mkhitaryan - 8/10

Mkhitaryan's link up play was devastating and his movement untraceable, earning his team a penalty early on. His presence of mind to get to the ball after it was parried by Igor, allowed him to slot in the 4th goal for his side. Wrapped up a decent performance at the hour mark to loud cheers from the visitors' section.

Anthony Martial wrecking the CSKA Moscow defence with a magical display

Anthony Martial - 9/10

Martial set up Lukaku twice in the first half-an-hour with two equally lovely crosses, with a penalty goal dispatched, tugged between his two assists. Even keeping statistics aside, the Frenchman's dribbling was drool-worthy and was the very definition of a nightmare for the opposition. No rest for the wicked seemed to be his tagline for the day, as he neatly carved apart the Russian defence with ease throughout the game.

Romelu Lukaku celebrates with class after dispatching his second of the night

Romelu Lukaku - 9/10

With an absolute peach of a pass to Martial and then with the subsequent finish, Lukaku opened up the scoring with a great header in less than 5 minutes. He quickly followed it up by an easy tap-in and then went on to play a tough next 60 minutes, somehow unable to secure his hattrick with a plethora of wasted chances. The prolific Belgium rued his luck as the 3rd goal eluded him, even though he played a near-perfect striker game.

SUBSTITUTES

Jesse Lingard - 7/10

Lingard came on and an almost scored with his first involvement but was denied by a great stop from the goalkeeper. He was continuously involved in attacks but most of them fizzled out, even as United romped to a 4-goal lead.

Matteo Darmian - 7/10

Darmian was brought on to provide stability at back to keep United on cruising mode. His intelligent run down the right nearly got him a good goal, but apart from that he couldn't get involved in the game that much.

Marcus Rashford - 6/10

Came on around 70th minute to revitalize the pace down the left for United. He was fouled occasionally and was able to get into good spaces, Rashford couldn't leave a lasting impression on the game.