MANCHESTER UNITED shook off a dodgy start at Old Trafford to blast a famous five past Bournemouth and move above Chelsea into fourth place.
Junior Stanislas had humbled Harry Maguire and David de Gea in equal measure to squeeze the Cherries into a first-half lead.
But moments of quality from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s front three wrenched the shackles from his players – leading to some truly sumptuous football.
Star attackers Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes got on the scoresheet – while prodigious teen Mason Greenwood continued to announce himself with a superb double.
Here’s how SunSport rated each Red Devils performer.
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David de Gea – 5
The Spaniard looked a touch cumbersome all afternoon, trying to zip quick passes but often scuffing them and leaving his team-mates with a tricky task.
Had no chance for the penalty, but will be disappointed to have been beaten at such a tight angle by Stanislas in the first-half.
United may be playing well, but unfortunately it is in spite of the Spaniard, rather than because of him.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7
The £50million right-back is really finding his feet in an attacking sense at United.
Wan-Bissaka, 22, has always been well-known for his superb ability at defending one-on-one situations.
But against Bournemouth, he also illustrated another side to his game, whipping in superb crosses and unlucky that Rashford strayed just offside when turning one of them home.
Victor Lindelof – 5
Didn’t do much right or wrong, despite having been hooked at the break.
Stanislas’ opener wasn’t the Swede’s fault, and if anything he’ll have been even more assured of his place as Maguire’s regular sidekick by Eric Bailly’s slightly erratic second-half display.
Harry Maguire – 5
The big defender has still played every single minute in the Premier League for United this season, but he’ll have plenty of better days than today.
At times he looked his confident best, making roving runs forward with the ball at his feet.
But he was humiliated by Stanislas for the Cherries’ opener, being nutmegged virtually on the touchline before the ex-West Ham winger squeezed the ball home.
Luke Shaw – 7
Having looked in danger of losing his shirt to Brandon Williams earlier this season, Shaw is now growing in a United jersey.
Solid enough defensively, and a threat going forward, the 24-year-old finally appears to be delivering on his undoubted potential.
In this kind of form, Shaw could make it a decent battle with Ben Chilwell for a starting berth for England at the Euros next year.
Nemanja Matic – 6
The Serbian strolled through the match in his usual languid manner, not doing a lot wrong.
At 31, Matic’s Old Trafford career appears to be going through something of a renaissance.
Will be happy enough with how he kept things ticking over.
Paul Pogba – 7
The Frenchman is box office, and provides United with a superb extra threat from deep.
Pogba makes sublime passes and instant control look easy, and has added an extra dimension to his side since returning from injury.
Seeing him dovetail with Fernandes offers United fans a tantalising glimpse into what next season could look like if they can convince their No6 to stay.
Mason Greenwood – 9
The kid is a superstar.
He blasted one in with his left foot, and another with his right.
His pace, trickery and two-footedness bamboozles opposition players and makes him so hard to defend against.
Greenwood can become anything he wants to be at Old Trafford.
Bruno Fernandes – 8
This was a typically exciting, typically productive Bruno Fernandes performance.
He helped get United rolling by slipping a pass through to Greenwood to equalise in the first-half.
And he also got in on the act himself in the second 45, whipping a devilish free-kick befitting his new surroundings past the helpless Aaron Ramsdale.
Marcus Rashford – 7
Still finding his feet since the restart, Rashford did manage to get involved in plenty of good things for his side.
United’s No10 converted from the penalty spot to give his side the lead for the first-time in the afternoon.
He also provided more evidence of his excellent vision and passing ability, with one stunning lofted through ball to Fernandes in the first-half particularly catching the eye.
Anthony Martial – 8
The Frenchman looks a man reborn in a red shirt at the moment.
Martial appears to have rediscovered his love for the game this season, as the ear-to-ear grin following his goal would attest to.
And what about his goal, an absolutely gorgeous right-footed effort curled into the far top corner of Ramsdale’s net.
Substitutes
Eric Bailly (for Lindelof, 46) – Contributed to a chaotic Red Devils start to the second-half by needlessly giving away a penalty on the edge of his own box for handball, which Josh King duly converted. 4
Fred (for Matic, 67) – Provided a reminder of his positive form earlier in the season, taking the reigns from Matic and patrolling the midfield, even stinging Ramsdale’s palms with a decent effort. 6
Daniel James (for Greenwood, 75) – Appears to have lost his place to Greenwood for good now, and will struggle to make it his again. 5
Juan Mata (for Rashford, 80) – Buzzed around in his usual fashion but didn’t have enough time to make much of an impact. 5
Odion Ighalo (for Martial, 80) – Looked lively and perhaps should have scored, when he bustled his way through on goal before placing an effort wide of the target. 5
