by DERBY, Sporting Alert – Anthony Martial finished with two assists and Wayne Rooney scored a spectacular goal to help Manchester United beat Derby 3-1 in the fourth-round of the FA Cup at the iPro Stadium.
Derby County 1 (Thorne 37) Manchester United 3(Rooney 16, Blind 65, Mata 83).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiqoxGt48Pk
Playing on the left flank on Friday evening, Martial, who was named Man of the Match for his outstanding performance, was a constant danger to the home side’s backline, especially for the Derby right-back.
His passing and movement setup the game’s opener for Manchester United, with Rooney delivering a fabulous finish after 16 minutes.
Derby did grab an equaliser through George Thorne before half-time, but centre-back Daley Blind and Juan Mata both finished very well in the second half to secure the victory for Manchester United to eased some of the pressure off manager Louis van Gaal, who has been heavily criticised for the way his team has been playing.
“It was really important for us to win,” Mata admitted to BBC Sport’s Dan Walker after the game.
“It is not easy to come here, even though they are not in the Premier League, they are a good team and are physically strong, like to press, and I think we did a good job.
“We came here to play football and play quicker and create more chances to score.”
Meanwhile, Daley Blind added on his goal: “I made a move forward and when I was in the box I thought I should go to the front post like a striker does and it was a perfect ball.
“We did what we needed to do and that was win.”
Besides the goalscorers and the leading assister, both full-backs Guillermo Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and midfielder Marouane Fellaini, also performed very well for the travellers, who will now turn their focus to the league fixture against Stoke City.
Derby XI: Carson, Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Warnock, Thorne, Ince, Butterfield, Johnson, Blackman, Martin
Manchester United XI: De Gea, Varela, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-Jackson, Fellaini, Schneiderlin, Mata, Lingard, Martial, Rooney
