Manchester United vs. Cambridge: Winners and Losers from FA Cup Game
Manchester United are into the fifth round of the FA Cup after beating Cambridge United 3-0 in their fourth-round replay on Tuesday.
Juan Mata opened the scoring with a header that struck the underside of the crossbar in the 25th minute, and shortly after the half-hour mark Marcos Rojo doubled the hosts' lead.
Substitute striker James Wilson put the finishing touches on the tie with a fine strike in the 73rd minute, and while both Tom Elliott and Cameron McGeehan came close to scoring, Cambridge just couldn't find a breakthrough.
Overall, there were several performances that caught the eye at Old Trafford, as well as one or two that were rather less impressive.
Following are the winners and losers from the encounter.
Winner: Juan Mata, Who Involved Himself in Every United Attack
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When Juan Mata headed the ball off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net in the 25th minute, Manchester United breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Through 90 scoreless minutes at Abbey Stadium and the first portion of the opening half at Old Trafford, they had failed to break through against the lowest-ranked club remaining in the competition. The Spaniard's opener relieved that considerable pressure.
Mata also touched the ball 73 times on Tuesday and completed an eye-popping 97 percent of his passes, according to WhoScored.com.
His movement off the ball was especially useful and allowed for an assortment of exchanges as United pressed for goals.
Loser: Tom Elliott, Who Hit the Upright for Cambridge
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What a different match it might have been had Tom Elliott opened the scoring for Cambridge inside the first minute.
Capitalising on Daley Blind's giveaway in the Manchester United half, Elliott proceeded to hit the upright with his shot, with goalkeeper David de Gea well beaten.
From there, Cambridge mustered very little in the way of meaningful chances, although Elliott did pick out Cameron McGeehan with a late pass which the latter pulled wide of the near corner.
Winner: Paddy McNair, Who Was Productive and Composed at Right-Back
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Paddy McNair played Tuesday's entire match at right-back and generally impressed in the role.
His crosses tended to be well-weighted, and he wasn't adverse to stopping his runs down the flank to play meaningful passes to the likes of Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney.
No one touched the ball more at Old Trafford than the 19-year-old, according to WhoScored, and going forward manager Louis van Gaal may suddenly have another option at right-back, since Antonio Valencia has failed to make much of an impact in the position.
"Paddy McNair has been the most composed MUFC player in this first half-hour," tweeted the BBC's Mark Chapman during the first half.
Winner: The Cambridge Players and Supporters, Who Enjoyed a Memorable Occasion
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According to the club's official Twitter account, more than 6,600 Cambridge United supporters made the trip to Old Trafford for Tuesday's FA Cup fourth-round replay against Manchester United.
Their team did them proud.
Cambridge played without fear at the Theatre of Dreams, and their supporters continued to cheer them on until the final whistle.
Prior to kick-off, the BBC's Mark Chapman photographed many of the Cambridge players taking selfies on the pitch, and one of them, former Red Devil Luke Chadwick, played just over an hour until being applauded by both sets of fans.
All in all, it was a fine occasion, and the traveling contingent contributed to it.
Loser: Ander Herrera, Who Can't Get in the Starting Lineup
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Ander Herrera was an unused substitute the entire month of November and hasn't started a Premier League match since December 2.
Once again on Tuesday he was omitted from Van Gaal's starting lineup, although after coming off the bench in the 71st minute he quickly assisted James Wilson's goal.
He touched the ball 36 times in 19 minutes plus stoppages and completed 94 percent of his passes, per WhoScored.
"Ander Herrera deserves better than this at MUFC," tweeted FourFourTwo's Sam Pilger ahead of the match. "His continued exclusion makes no sense and is a strange way to waste £29 million."
Winner: Marouane Fellaini, Who Was Helpful in an Advanced Role
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Marouane Fellaini started Tuesday's match playing just off Manchester United striker Robin van Persie.
He excelled in the role during the first half before fading somewhat after the restart.
In the 25th minute, his header from Angel Di Maria's cross allowed Juan Mata to open the scoring, and in the 32nd he calmly switched the ball to Van Persie, who clipped it into space for Rojo to head into the back of the net.
"Fellaini again involved with shot blocked from a corner, loose ball to RVP, who crossed for [Rojo] to head in his 1st Utd goal," tweeted the BBC's Simon Stone.
