Man United vs Chelsea player ratings: Olivier Giroud shines as David de Gea endures nightmare in FA Cup semi-final

The Blues will now meet Arsenal in the final after easing past the Red Devils

Karl Matchett
Sunday 19 July 2020 14:59 EDT
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Manchester United vs Chelsea FA Cup preview

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Chelsea saw off Manchester United at Wembley to set up an FA Cup final rematch against Arsenal

The Blues took the initiative from the outset and Olivier Giroud poked past David de Gea just before the break for a deserved lead.

Mason Mount’s shot was then pushed into his own net by De Gea to gift the Blues a second.

And a third arrived through Harry Maguire’s own-goal, put past his goalkeeper under pressure from Antonio Rudiger. Bruno Fernandes reduced the deficit from the spot after Callum Hudson-Odoi fouled Anthony Martial, but it was not to be enough.

Here are the player ratings from the semi-final at Wembley.

Maguire puts a third past De Gea
Maguire puts a third past De Gea (POOL/AFP)

Man United player ratings

David de Gea – 4. Won’t need anybody to tell him that his errors have effectively decided the tie. And yes, both goals were ultiimately his errors.

Eric Bailly – 6. Subbed early after two clashes of heads.

Victor Lindelof – 5. Poor when it came to tracking runners, making key challenges, keeping United’s shape at the back.

Harry Maguire – 4. Had a very poor day defensively and missed the attacking chance which came his way. Scored an own goal to wrap the game up.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 4. Defensively hasn’t been up to scratch recently. Beaten easily in the air several times and had little good delivery in attack. Woeful positioning on the third goal.

Kovacic stretches for the ball under pressure from Fernandes
Kovacic stretches for the ball under pressure from Fernandes (2020 Pool)

Brandon Williams - 5: Worked hard but unable to influence game due to Chelsea press.

Nemanja Matic – 6. Like Chelsea’s midfield, was occasionally bypassed by the teams playing direct from back to front.

Fred – 6. A few stray passes, lots of work rate.

Bruno Fernandes – 7. United’s best player and yet the day’s tactics appeared to be geared toward hitting the channels rather than him. Class act when he did get on the ball.

Daniel James – 5. Extremely one-dimensional on the ball but lacks rhythm and minutes of late. Made lots of runs into the channels to chase lost causes.

Marcus Rashford – 5. Didn’t get much service, sent one left-footed shot wide.

Mount celebrates as De Gea comes to terms with his howler
Mount celebrates as De Gea comes to terms with his howler (2020 Pool)

Chelsea player ratings

Willy Caballero – 7. Off his line quickly to clear danger. Not really tested with on-target strikes.

Cesar Azpilicueta – 8. Stepped out of the defensive line well to make challenges and got forward in suppport down the channel when he could. Tremendous cross for the opening goal.

Kurt Zouma – 6. A little uncertain dealing with direct balls at times. Sums up the Chelsea defence of the season: sometimes he’s excellent. Today he was unreliable.

Antonio Rudiger – 7. Beaten for pace a couple of times but generally dealt well with long passes and playing out. Scored the third from close range.

Reece James – 7. Lots of running, lots of good positions taken up, lots of hard work put in to track back and ensure Chelsea weren’t caught short.

Jorginho – 6. Chelsea were happy to bypass him by playing down the channels directly.

Chelsea celebrate after going 3-0 up at Wembley
Chelsea celebrate after going 3-0 up at Wembley (POOL/AFP)

Mateo Kovacic – 6. Won the ball and gave away fouls in not-far-off equal measure.

Marcos Alonso – 5. Missed a great chance early on with a header. Caught out for pace by United’s right side a number of times.

Willian – 7. One of his quieter games in terms of productivity but the movement was always clever, he pressed extremely well and linked with his fellow attackers nicely.

Mason Mount – 7. Rewarded for his industry and optimism with a goal.

Olivier Giroud – 8. Man of the match. Led the line in his usual superb manner, holding up play, providing an outlet, bullying defenders and showing great movement to score with a deft touch.

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