Ranking Manchester United's Top 5 Players for April
Manchester United ended April with the best moment of their season so far. Anthony Martial's injury time winner at Everton meant a place in the FA Cup final was assured.
Three wins out of four in the league made for a decent month in terms of the late push for a Champions League spot too, though the 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur was one of the most definitive of the season.
Only in United's trip to Arsenal had the Red Devils been so comprehensively taken apart. North London has not been a happy hunting ground for Louis van Gaal's side in 2015/16.
Of the players not mentioned in the following list, Daley Blind is unluckiest not to get a place in the top five. He is excluded because of his huge culpability in the Spurs loss. However, it should be remembered that that game followed an excellent performance against Everton in the league.
Romelu Lukaku tended to favour Chris Smalling's side of the defence in the subsequent Wembley rematch between the two sides—a pretty big compliment to Blind.
Players returning from injury feature here, as do two players who made the top five last month. Let's take a look at who was most important to United in an April which featured some pretty hard swings.
5: Antonio Valencia
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Antonio Valencia returned to the fringes of United's squad in March, following an injury lay-off that had seen him absent since October 2015.
However, it was in April that he reclaimed a starting berth, playing 90 minutes against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
He notched an assist against Villa thanks to a moment of awareness. He spotted that Marcus Rashford had checked his run in the box, earning himself a couple of yards of space. Valencia found the youngster with a smart cut back and United went 1-0 up.
At Wembley, Timothy Fosu-Mensah was preferred to Valencia—understandably given the impression he had made on the first team. A nervous Fosu-Mensah made a few mistakes, culminating in giving away a penalty.
While there are question marks about Van Gaal's handling of that situation, the truth is that once he had replaced the 18 year-old, an assured Valencia helped United see off the extended period of Everton pressure that followed, and eventually win the game.
As well as his assist and ship-steadying cameo in the month, Valencia's display against Palace was worthy of note. He was heavily involved, with only Daley Blind, Morgan Schneiderlin and Juan Mata having more touches. He completed 96.6 per cent of his 58 passes and made four tackles.
He also completed two successful dribbles, a facet of his game that was once so important but has been less prevalent of late.
It has been a good month for Valencia.
4: Marouane Fellaini
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It was also a good month for that most maligned of United players, Marouane Fellaini, who sits in fourth place here thanks to his goals against West Ham United and Everton in the FA Cup sixth-round replay and semi-final respectively.
His return to the side has coincided with a shift to a 4-1-4-1 formation in which Fellaini has lined up alongside Wayne Rooney ahead of either Michael Carrick or Morgan Schneiderlin. It has worked for the Red Devils who have looked a more potent attacking threat since the switch.
It has certainly led to some more entertaining football, and has given Fellaini a chance to reprise the role he played in United's best period of last season, when he operated in the same advanced midfield role.
This is not to say that the Belgium international has transformed into a silky trequartista, far from it. But given how much—often justified—criticism he receives, he deserves some praise when he plays well.
He still has a tendency to slow down United's attacks, to turn and knock a safe pass back into midfield rather than drive United forward. However, his two goals were crucial in United's passage to the FA Cup final, as was his remarkable last-ditch challenge at Wembley.
Few would complain were he to leave Old Trafford in the summer, but April showed he can still be an asset to the right team.
3: Wayne Rooney
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Rooney has returned from injury to find his centre-forward spot taken by Marcus Rashford. Van Gaal has, of course, found a place for his captain in the starting lineup, by moving him back into attacking midfield. So far, it is working.
He made a—very—late substitute appearance against West Ham in the FA Cup, and was restored to the first XI from the Aston Villa game onward. He has hardly put a foot wrong since.
Against Villa he sprayed the pass to Valencia which began the move for United's goal. Against Palace he had three shots at goal and made a key pass.
And at Wembley he was outstanding, particularly in the first half. He acted as the fulcrum for much of United's midfield play, completing 93 per cent of his passes, making two key passes and generally looking like a fit for the role.
He sits third on this list thanks to that surprising renaissance—few would have expected him to excel in midfield, or to play so well so quickly after his return from injury.
It should be noted that he has been allowed a lot of time on the ball by the opposition he has faced of late, and perhaps a more physically dominant midfield with its eye set on pressing Rooney would cause him more trouble. However, for now, he is adapting well to his deeper position.
It is a role that could see him extend his United career, given the competition for places up front.
2: David De Gea
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David De Gea has won United's player of the year award for the third season in a row. He is richly deserving of the trophy, though of course for the Red Devils it should be a source of serious embarrassment that their 'keeper has been their best player for three straight years.
He also won the club's player of the month award for April, but he will have to settle for the No. 2 spot here.
United kept three clean sheets in April, and De Gea pulled off some serious heroics in the FA Cup semi-final to help his club make it to the final. He saved Lukaku's penalty, of course—one of seven stops he made in that game.
He misses out on top spot in part for sentimental reasons—Martial's Wembley goal was worth a significant number of bonus points—and for the sake of a bit of variety. De Gea is an absolutely outstanding player, worthy of the plaudits heaped upon him, but—for a change—he is going to have to accept second place here. For once there is a player worthy of pipping him to some praise.
1: Anthony Martial
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In six games in April, Anthony Martial scored twice and provided two assists. Both goals came against Everton, and both were match winners. It was the month in which his new chant caught fire. His all-round performances have been generally excellent.
Whatever else he achieved in April is insignificant, though, as what will be remembered is that Wembley goal.
He had put in a pretty impressive display even before that—one of the assists came in this match, and he caused Everton's defence a lot of trouble.
And then, when it really came to the crunch, with the entire outcome of the match at stake, Martial found a cool finish into the right-hand corner of the Everton net, which lit the fuse for spectacular celebrations.
Martial is on his way to becoming a hero at Old Trafford. He has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise very dull season. In April he was responsible for what has been—by far—its best moment so far. If that is not worthy of No. 1 spot in a player of the month list, then what is?
Advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.
