FA Cup Player Ratings: Chelsea vs Manchester United
Manchester United‘s hope of a double were ended by a resolute and determined Chelsea side with a deserved 1-0 victory in the FA cup quarter final replay at Stamford Bridge. Demba Ba’s wonderfully taken goal was enough for Chelsea to book a semi final date at Wembley against Manchester City in a match where chances were far and few in between.
Both the teams were playing their second match in under 48 hours and therefore the credit must go to the players who still managed to maintain a high intensity and tempo to the match. Let’s have a closer look as to how each individual on the pitch fared on the day.
Chelsea
Petr Cech – 9/10
Didn’t have much to do in the first half apart from an improvised save that he made with his foot from a 30 yard Hernandez shot that swerved awkwardly in the air. He followed that with one of the saves of the season in deflecting a Hernandez point blank header over the bar in the second half, to keep Chelsea’s lead intact. Overall ball distribution and gathering were almost perfect and was the main reason in earning a clean sheet for his team.
Azpilicueta – 6/10
Wasn’t tested enough as most of the attacking play came from United’s right wing. Did his job well whenever required defensively. Could have been better while going forward and joining the attack.
Branislav Ivanovic – 7/10
Was beaten for pace in the first half by Dannny Welbeck, who could have been through on goal had Ivanovic not recovered well in time to use his strength and experience to get the possession back. Produced an otherwise assured center back performance.
David Luiz – 6/10
Was at fault a couple times when United strikers should have punished his mistake, but uncharacteristically missed their chances. First mistake was during the first half, when Hernandez turned him on the edge of the Chelsea area and decided not to shoot when the oppportunity was there. Secondly, when he left Robin Van Persie unmarked in the six yard box during the dying stages of the match, but again fortunately for him, the Dutchman mistimed his volley from Evra’s cut back.
Ashley Cole – NA
Was subbed inside 20 minutes of the match when he pulled a hamstring while taking a quick turn during a sprint duel with his England teammate Danny Welbeck. Performed well up until then.
John Obi Mikel - 7/10
Did his job well as a holding midfielder and thwarted any attack coming through the midfield. Kept Tom Cleverley under check and didn’t allow him to assert his game on Chelsea. Tried to hit a first time volley that went way off the target on the rare occasion when he went forward.
Ramires – 8/10
Chelsea’s engine room produced yet another assured performance in the heart of Chelsea’s midfield. He, along with Obi Mikel, proved to be a solid shield in front of Chelsea’s back four, which United found hard to break through. Moreover, he also started most of Chelsea’s counter attacking play and was always available for accepting the ball in either half of the pitch.
Juan Mata – 9/10
Didn’t get enough of the ball in the first half and was well marshalled by United’s extra man in midfield in the form of Phil Jones. Came to life during the second half when he produced the pass of the match which was expertly finished by Demba Ba. After that, he ran the show and proved to be a constant thorn for United’s defense and produced a couple of good saves from De Gea.
Eden Hazard – 6/10
A relatively quiet afternoon for his standards. Should have put the match to bed in the 70th minute when he missed a glorious oppportunity after a good first touch that took him past two defenders and put him through on goal. But he scuffed his shot wide. Was kept under check otherwise by the United defenders.
Oscar – 6/10
Played a couple of good one-twos with Hazard on the edge of United’s area and provided good support in keeping Chelsea’s counter attacking play moving. Tried a couple of shots which went off target. Like Hazard, nothing special for his standards.
Demba Ba – 8/10
Scored the only goal that settled the match with an exquisite finish from a delightful Mata’s pass and thereby showcasing his wonderful technique. Proved his manager’s decision right in starting him ahead of Torres and was a constant threat for United’s center backs with his guile and pace.
Substitutions
Ryan Bertrand – 6/10
Brought in place of injured Ashley Cole after just 20 minutes. Didn’t have much to do in the first half due to Nani’s lack of efforts. Had to work his socks off in the second half though, when Valencia was asked to move forward. But he was ably helped by Obi Mikel to thwart any serious attacks from United’s right wing.
Fernando Torres – NA
Came in really late and hence had no impact on the match.
Manchester United
David De Gea – 7/10
Showed his ever growing improvement in handling the ball during set pieces. Produced a couple of good saves in either half from Ba and Mata’s snapshots. However, couldn’t have done anything to stop Demba Ba’s goal which left him rooted to the spot.
Patrice Evra – 6/10
Was more or less isolated on United’s left wing as they didn’t start with a natural left winger. Did his job well defensively and came to life in the second half after the introduction of Giggs and Young. Almost provided an assist for United’s equaliser when he made an accurate cut back, only to see Van Persie steer a left foot volley well over the cross bar.
Chris Smalling – 7/10
Made a couple of composed back passes and headers to his keeper and produced an overall assured performance in United’s defense to further enhance his manager’s belief in him. Was good both in the air as well as territorially.
Rio Ferdinand – 6/10
Was booed by the opposition fans throughout the match after his England snub. Should have done better in preventing Mata’s pass from reaching Demba Ba and was caught ball watching. Didn’t perform according to his recent good form.
Antonio Valencia – 8/10
Started in an uncharacterstic but not unfamiliar right back role in the absence of injured Rafael. Did well in keeping Hazard quiet for the day. Was employed as a right winger during the second half and produced a couple of good crosses into the box. According to Sir Alex, he was the only player to have performed to his level for the full 90 minutes.
Nani – 4/10
He was one of the worst performers on the pitch for the day. Apart from a 30 yard shot that went just wide off the target, he constantly kept giving away the possession and breaking away any momentum that United had gathered. Was rightfully subbed in the second half.
Tom Cleverley – 6/10
Although he did his running from either box and kept possession, he couldn’t assert himself onto the match as much as he would have liked. Was kept in check by Ramires and Obi Mikel, which restricted him to pass the ball either sideways or backwards.
Michael Carrick – 7/10
Another composed performance from United’s lynchpin in the heart of midfield who rarely gave away possession. He, along with Phil Jones, kept Oscar and Hazard relatively quiet. However, unlike other occasions, he wasn’t able to start United’s attack and his vertical passes through to United strikers were sorely missed.
Phil Jones – 6/10
Came back from his ankle injury sustained almost a month ago to be employed as an extra man in the midfield to keep a check on Chelsea’s trio of Hazard, Oscar and Mata. Did his job well in the first half but his performance level dipped in the second period owing to his lack of match fitness. Ended the match as a right back when Valencia was asked to move forward.
Danny Welbeck – 7/10
He was the best United player during the first half. Beat Chelsea’s defenders a couple of times with his pace and strength but lacked support from his teammates. Did his defensive duties as well while tracking back and winning the possession for his team. Although, he couldn’t carry on with his first half performance into the second half where he became a bit subdued.
Javier Hernandez – 7/10
Was very unlucky not to have scored on the day. Took an early shot from 30 yards in the first half which swerved heavily in the air and caught Petr Cech by surprise, who had to improvise and stop the ball going into the back of his net with his trailing foot. In the second half, he must have thought he had scored when he headed a delightful Danny Welbeck cross from point blank range, only to see it being deflected over the bar by Cech.
Substitutes
Robin Van Persie – 5/10
He was brought in place of Cleverley in the second half to get the goal back for United. Took time to gather the pace of the match and didn’t get any real chance up until the 87th minute when he volleyed an Evra’s cut back well over the bar. Missed another header a couple of minutes later and thereby showing his current lack of form in front of goal which has restricted him from scoring since mid-February.
Ryan Giggs – 5/10
Brought in place of woeful Nani to assert some attacking midfield play. But, it was rather too late and hence couldn’t affect the proceedings as much as he and his manager would have liked.
Ashley Young – 6/10
Brought in place of Welbeck for the last ten minutes to provide some natural width on the left hand side. The substitution almost paid off when the England winger played a simple yet effective pass to Evra inside the area. The Frenchman accurately cut the ball back, only for van Persie to miss the target.