Manchester United have advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, winning 2-0 away to Huddersfield Town. Romelu Lukaku lead the way for the Red Devils, scoring early on in both halves.
Mourinho rotated the side ahead of the massive midweek Champions League match vs Sevilla. Romero got the start in goal, as he always does in cup games, with Lindelof, and Shaw coming into the defence. McTominay and Carrick joined Matic in central midfield, with Mourinho opting for a front three of Mata, Alexis, and Lukaku.
It was a dream start for the away side, as United were able to take the lead in the opening five minutes. Lukaku settled a long ball, before laying off a pass to Juan Mata. The Belgian turned and ran in behind, and was picked out with a wicked through ball. From there on it was elementary, as Lukaku cut inside before finishing off the move with a shot to the near post.
The early goal led to United taking their foot off the pedal, allowing Huddersfield to get into the game. Ince had the best chance for the hosts, when his low shot rolled just wide of the far post.
Huddersfield really started to control the tempo of the game, having 60% possession at one point. The Red Devils were more than content with proceedings, staying compact defensively while trying to hit on the counter.
It was Ince once again coming close for the hosts, when a low cross came close to picking out the Englishman, but the winger was unable to get the final touch on the ball.
United finally started to maintain possession of the ball, and started creating more and more chances. McTominay and Lukaku linked up on the edge of the penalty area, but both saw their shots blocked away.
United seemed to have doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time, when Mata was played through on goal and rounded the keeper before tapping the ball into an empty net. However, after consulting with VAR, the ref called the goal back for offside. It was an incredibly harsh call, as the diminutive Spaniard seemed even with the Huddersfield defender.
Remarkably enough, United scored another goal before half-time, but had that one called back for offside as well. A cross from a free kick picked out Matic, who volleyed it into the goal, but replays showed the midfielder was ahead of the last defender.
It was a sluggish start to the second half for United, and they were almost made to pay for it. Huddersfield won a free kick in a dangerous position. Ince stepped up, but was only able to smash a shot into the wall. The home side won another free kick in a similar position, but that had the same result as the United wall was able to block it away.
United finally officially doubled the lead soon after. A Huddersfield corner was cleared away by the United defence, and fell to the feet of Lukaku. He found Alexis, before making a sprint toward goal. Sanchez saw the run, and picked out Lukaku with a brilliant through ball. The Belgian took a touch before slotting it past the Huddersfield goalie at the near post. The goal came at the perfect time for United, as it seemed like the home side were getting closer and closer to finding an equaliser.
United made their first substitution of the match in the 75th minute, as Martial replaced Alexis Sanchez. The second substitution came five minutes later, with Jesse Lingard coming on for Juan Mata.
United final change came in the final minute of the match, as Eric Bailly made his long awaited return from injury, replacing Romelu Lukaku.
It was a professional performance from United, as they were able to capitalise on their chances, and didn’t make any mistakes defensively to give Huddersfield a chance.
Manchester United’s next match is on Wednesday, as the Red Devils travel to Spain to face Sevilla in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 match-up.
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