At a soaking wet KCOM stadium, Manchester United scored in extra time to beat a resolute Hull City 1-0 as their perfect start to the season continued.
Clear chances were at a premium but substitute Marcus Rashford came off the bench and finished well to deliver a cruel blow to Hull.
Top Three Performers
Antonio Valencia
In the last couple of years, Valencia has moved back from a winger to a wing back and now he plays most of his football as a right back as part of a defensive four. On some occasions in the past, the Ecuadorian has not looked suited to his new role but that was not the case at the KCOM.
He managed to take Adame Diomande totally out of the game, no mean feat given that the Hull forward had been in fine form for the newly promoted side in recent weeks. Valencia was always United’s main attacking force during the game, providing numerous crosses for the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Colombian is now firmly established in the United backline which has conceded just one goal in their first three Premier League games.
Curtis Davies
It must have been a daunting task for Davies coming up against the form striker in the Premier League, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. To be clear, the Swedish star did have some half chances, but Davies did incredibly well to limit his influence on the match and as the main man in Hull’s heroic defensive display.
Davies, who was standing in as captain for the injured Michael Dawson, flung himself in front of everything and won numerous headers in his own box to clear the almost never ending danger. With Sam Allardyce set to name his first England squad in the coming days, Davies could have an outside chance of earning his first cap for his country given his strong start to the new campaign.
Marcus Rashford
After being so impressive for United at the end of last season, young Rashford has had a mixed last few months. He had no real chance to impress in England’s awful Euro 2016 and has not been given a start under Mourinho in the Premier League so far this season.
Yet coming on for the below par Juan Mata, Rashford showed his class in the final 20 minutes of the game at Hull. His direct style posed the City defence a different threat and he always looked the most likely to score out of any of the United forward line. He was in the right position to pick up the ball after some great play from Wayne Rooney and finished clinically. Rashford should now be knocking on Jose Mourinho’s door for a first start of the season given his stunning cameo off the bench.
Bottom Three Performers
Marouane Fellaini
In a summer where Manchester United have invested heavily into their first team it is surprising that the Belgian international continues to start. His defensive limitations were exposed during the game, most notably when he picked up a yellow card for a cynical foul on Adama Diomande on the edge of his own box.
When the imposing midfielder did venture forward, he provided little spark and on occasion even slowed the tempo down as United were camped on Hull’s box. It remains to be seen how much longer Jose Mourinho persists with Fellaini but on the basis of this game it should not be for much longer.
Adama Diomande
It is hard to pick out a bad Hull player given how well the newly promoted side played but the Danish striker was unable to build upon his impressive start to the new campaign. His link up play with his partner Abel Hernandez was wayward and let the away side build up pressure.
There was just one occasion where the powerful forward was able to get a run on the United defence and Diomande never got in a position to test David de Gea. Hull fans should not worry too much about a rare off-day from their Danish forward given his stellar start to the season but Diomande will himself be annoyed that he did not really test the United backline.
Anthony Martial
What has made the young French man stand out since his move to the Premier League last year was not on show at the KCOM. Martial never got in behind the home team’s defence and his movement, which often opens up space for his teammates, was almost non-existent.
In the first half he barely touched the ball and things did not get much better after the restart. The French international just made it to the 60th minute before he was subbed off, ending a rather poor showing. You get the feeling that Jose Mourinho is still searching for his perfect attacking line-up and with Marcus Rashford coming off the bench to score a late winner, Martial has to refind his form quickly or lose his place to the young England star.
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