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
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.
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.