Manchester United 3-0 Shrewsbury: Reds into the 6th round

Red Devils dominated the match despite several unfamiliar faces

Manchester United dismantled Shrewsbury 3-0 in the 5th round of the FA Cup, ending their run of losses; Smalling, Mata, and Lingard provided the goals.

Louis van Gaal made minor adjustments to the usual team. Guillermo Varela returned to the team after recovering from injury and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson came back after dealing with an illness. Ander Herrera and Morgan Schneiderlin started together in the holding midfield. Additionally, Sergio Romero got his second consecutive start in relief of the injured David de Gea.

The Red Devils opened on the front foot with dominant possession as they looked to bounce back from consecutive defeats. Early on, the full-backs provided the best attacking options as they drove forward and whipped in dangerous crosses. Memphis Depay was also heavily involved from the get go, but his trademark shot after cutting to his favored right foot proved fruitless.

Chris Smalling got the scoring underway in surprising fashion in the 38^th minute. After Shrewsbury half cleared a corner, United were able to keep the pressure on. Schneiderlin headed a lengthy ball across to Manchester United’s center defender, who deftly volleyed on the half to give his side a 1-0 lead.

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Juan Mata wasted little time in adding to the lead, netting a goal of his own on a free kick just before half time. After Anthony Martial was brought down outside the box following a clever lay off, the Spanish midfielder stepped up to take the attempt. He curled his shot over the wall, leaving Shrewsbury’s keeper flatfooted.

The two teams entered the break with Manchester United up 2-0 and in clear control of the match. In truth, United were lucky to be up two goals as their possession generally failed to materialize in anything more than half chances. Neither goal reflected the team’s inability to finish in front of net, as the first came with Smalling in acres of space and the second off a set piece. Still, it was just what the doctor ordered following their struggles in the previous two matches, with the second half there to see out the match.

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Joe Riley came on at the start of the second half in replacement of Borthwick-Jackson and aided in continuing his side’s dominance. United had some well worked attacks, including a clever corner that Martial should have finished but his header was sent wide.

Jesse Lingard made it 3-0 by capping off a quick counterattack. Romero sent Mata and Herrera sprinting forward with a good long toss, and Herrera was ultimately able to whip in a ball far post to Lingard, where he volleyed home.

Mata was given an early exit via a substitution of Andreas Pereira, while Martial was removed for Will Keane. Van Gaal would have been wary to save his starters for the future given the injuries to rest of the team. However, Keane suffered a muscle injury while striking on goal, forcing his removal and United to play with 10 men for the final 15 minutes. The match had already been decided, though, and Manchester United were able to maintain the clean sheet despite being a man down.

Up next in the FA Cup is a meeting with Premier League side West Ham, who will pose a considerably bigger threat to the Red Devils’ Cup quest.