Manchester United eased to a 4-1 victory over CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League to put themselves in firm control of Group A.

Despite dwindling options in midfield, Jose Mourinho's side continued their scintillating form with a dominant performance against one of the most experienced sides in the competition. 

A brace from star striker Romelu Lukaku, as well as goals from Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan made up a stellar display in Russia.

Defence remained airtight

David de Gea - 9: On a night where the goalkeeper was hardly necessary at times, the Spaniard proved his huge importance to the Red Devils. De Gea made two phenomenal saves, first to deny Alan Dzagoev early on, and then Fedor Chalov later on.

Ashley Young - 8: The stand-in captain has developed a new importance to United, ably plying his trade on either side of the defence. The crossing skills he retains from his days as a winger are pivotal to his role at wing-back; Young was always a danger going forward.

Chris Smalling - 7: Another centre-back who's having to fight for his place in the team, Smalling didn't have to do much in Moscow. His forward distribution has generally been his weakness, so he was largely an interested spectator throughout the night.

Eric Bailly - 7: The Ivorian was solid against a pretty toothless CSKA attack, but he defended well. There was very little to do, but Bailly was perfectly comfortable when spraying the ball forward.

Victor Lindelöf - 7: While he may not be able to break into the Premier League side, the Swede has played in successive Champions League games. He's been very calm and composed on the ball while being a very good distributor of the ball forwards.

Daley Blind - 7: The Dutchman appears to have cemented himself as the first choice left-back at the club. He was very tidy on the ball in the Russian capital, and showed great desire to track back and win possession till the dying embers of the clash.

Central midfielders came out on top

Nemanja Matic - 8: While he may have been brought in as a defensive midfield wall, there's far more to the Serbian's game than that role. He displayed a Michael Carrick style control of the game, with a terrific range of passing that cut open the aging CSKA defence.

Ander Herrera - 8: Despite being player of the year last time out, the Spaniard has struggled for game time thus far. His exemplary break-up play has transitioned to this year, as the CSKA attack really struggled to create anything meaningful until late on.

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Fluid attack the highlight of United's game

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 9: The Armenian continued his remarkable start to the season with another performance of world class nature. He got himself on the scoresheet again, and was constantly popping up in areas of space, as the Swede Pontus Wernbloom unable to monitor him.  

Anthony Martial - 10: The Frenchman has started the season in terrific form, and continued that with an involvement in all four goals on the night in Moscow. He was a defender's nightmare, and gave Mario Fernandes one of the worst night's of his career. A fantastic cross made it easy for Lukaku to convert the opener, and he very calmly turned home the penalty.

Romelu Lukaku - 9: The Belgian has made a record-breaking start to life at Old Trafford, getting to 10 goals quicker than legendary goal-scorers like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Sir Bobby Charlton. The power he displayed to score against Southampton was evident again, as he bullied the defenders to fire home an early header. The striker's instincts were in evidence again as he showed great anticipation to bag his second goal. He really should've had a hat-trick, but his performance wavered toward the end of the game.

The substitutes

Matteo Darmian - 7: A short stint on the right hand of defence gave the Italian the chance to showcase his attacking ability. A fantastic incisive run down the right was perfectly found by Matic, but Darmian's effort was saved by Igor Akinfeev.

Jesse Lingard - 5: The only blemish on an otherwise perfect night was Lingard's poor display off the bench. He was sloppy on the ball and squandered a fantastic one-on-one opportunity against the impressive Russian keeper.

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About the author
Ryan Fisher
Sports Journalism at University of Central Lancashire. Manchester United fan. General sports enthusiast, football, cricket, tennis and formula 1 mostly though