CSKA MOSCOW 1, MANCHESTER UNITED 4
Romelu Lukaku scored twice as Manchester United cruised to a 4-1 thrashing of CSKA Moscow to record a second consecutive Champions League win in this season’s competition.
Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini were injured while Juan Mata and Marcus Rashford were on the bench as United started with a 3-4-3 formation with five changes from the side that beat Southampton on Saturday.
Daley Blind and Ashley Young came in as wing-backs while Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling joined Eric Bailly in defence.
Romelu Lukaku was flanked by Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic in midfield behind them and David De Gea in goal.
The big Belgian will be thanking Martial for providing the ammunition for both of his goals on the night starting with a high ball into the area which Lukaku nodded in for his ninth United goal in nine games after just four minutes.
How different it might have been if CSKA had quickly levelled but Alan Dzagoev’s shot was palmed away by David De Gea – the Spanish ‘keeper would also do his bit to keep the Russian crowd quiet with some key saves later in the game.
Martial got himself onto the scoresheet after Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who had earlier been denied by Igor Akinfeev, won a penalty from which the French youngster scored with just 18 minutes on the clock – his fifth strike of the season.
United silenced the Moscow crowd with their third goal after just 26 minutes when Martial, who had been terrorising the Russian defence all game, put a cross in which Vasili Berezutski inexplicably missed but Lukaku was on the spot to gobble up his 10th goal of the season.
Lukaku was denied a hat trick after exchanging passes with Martial in the second half but experienced ‘keeper Akinfeev made the save.
It was down to Mkhitaryan to score the fourth, a tap-in after Martial’s shot had been parried by Akinfeev, and United were 4-0 up and cruising from the 57th minute on after the Armenian celebrated only his second goal this term.
United were perhaps a little too laid back as Russian teenager Konstantin Kuchaev wiped out a United clean sheet with an injury time consolation from an acute angle though.
Mourinho may have found it hard to take the concession of a late goal but will surely have appreciated the rest for his players before Saturday’s encounter with Crystal Palace.