Yahoo Sport 
Manchester United Fan View: Martial takes a step backwards while top dogs prove their worth
Jose Mourinho’s men have now qualified for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a close victory against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
The likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were rested by the manager as Michael Carrick and Jesse Lingard took the pair’s place in the starting XI.
Quite similar to the game against Saint Etienne, the Red Devils did not perform at their best but they got the job done thanks to their key players.
Following a poor and slow start to the game, Owen Coyle’s side took the lead through a close range finish from Daniel Graham. However, the visitors bounced backed as Marcus Rashford pounced from a fantastic ball from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
The second half led to more chances for both sides and United were very lucky to not have conceded another goal. 13 minutes after coming on for Anthony Martial, Ibrahimovic allowed the superb over the top ball from Pogba to come to him before he calmly slotted it into the back of the net.
To be honest, United made a lot of problems for themselves as they allowed Rovers too much time on the ball and they were not ruthless in the final third. Meanwhile, Mourinho will certainly be satisfied with the result as he will be facing his former team Chelsea in the next round.
Here are the player ratings from Ewood Park…
First-team selection
Sergio Romero
Made a few decent saves during the game and unfortunately, he could do absolutely nothing about Daniel Graham’s goal. With a lot of high balls coming into the box, Romero dealt with it very well and he is expected to start in the second leg against Saint Etienne. (7/10)
Ashley Young
Getting forward as much as possible did not help much for Young as it had him exposed on the counter-attack. Although he is naturally an all out winger, he could have provided more in the final third, especially with quicker passes into the attackers. (6/10)
Chris Smalling
Winning nearly all the aerial duels against Graham despite losing him in the important stage, where the forward went on to giving the home side the lead. That was the only time he was beaten by Graham and after that, he wasn’t tested that much for the remainder of the match. (6/10)
Marcos Rojo
Just a few seconds before the goal, Marcos Rojo failed to deal with Emnes, who bullied the defender before placing the ball into the path of Graham. Following the slow build-up from the back, Carrick dropped deep to help the back line. (6/10)
Matteo Darmian
Was easily United’s worst player on the pitch, did not do enough to prevent Feeney from progressing into the final third. Also, he was hardly a threat for the Red Devils going forward and does not deserve to start in the side’s next game. (5/10)
Michael Carrick
Class as always, Carrick did not fail to put on a fantastic performance as his presence and experience was important for the side in today’s victory. From intercepting the ball to creating attacks in the matter of seconds, the veteran hardly made an error at Ewood Park. (8/10)
Ander Herrera
Having a couple of shots on sight from himself, none of them were converted but Herrera had another fine game. Despite making a few silly mistakes, the Spaniard continued showing his perfect pressing which led the Rovers players to pass the ball backwards. (7/10)
Jesse Lingard
It was an average for Lingard, who did not offer anything at all in attack as the likes of Rashford and Mkhitaryan were trying to make chances. After continuing to make very little effort in the second half, Mourinho replaced him with Pogba at the 62nd minute mark. (5/10)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan
Despite a slow start to the game, his fantastic touch and quality pass for Rashford’s goal was out of this world. Going through the replays again, it looks even better from the view behind the youngster. (7/10)
Anthony Martial
Although it looked like he was starting to get back to his best in recent games, Martial was ineffective in the game against Blackburn and did not have enough touches on the ball throughout the match. Since he was struggling to make an impact in the second half, he was taken off for Ibrahimovic. (5/10)
Marcus Rashford
Even though the goal was more notice for the pass from Mkhitaryan, a lot of credit has to go to Rashford for superbly going round the keeper before slotting it into the back of the net. After that, he carried on working hard and was also utilised on the left flank in the second half of the game. (7/10)
Substitutes
Paul Pogba – for Lingard in the 62nd minute
The Frenchman instantly made an impact when he came on, he was moving the ball at a quick tempo and produced a fine assist for the winning goal. (7/10)
Ibrahimovic – for Martial in the 62nd minute
From the minute he came on, it just seemed that it would be Ibrahimovic that would go on to get the winner as he made a few good runs to beat the offside trap on a few occasions. (7/10)
Juan Mata – for Rashford in the 89th minute
Coming on very late in the game, Mata did not have enough game time to get a rating. (N/A)
