David de Gea 6 – Made a strong save from Jonjo Shelvey’s powerful drive during the early stages but found himself stranded by his defence for Newcastle’s goal.
Antonio Valencia 6 – Composed himself well defensively, untroubled by the pace of the game, but lacked influence in the final third.
Chris Smalling 4 – Could have easily conceded a penalty in the first half and his needless dive in the second led to Newcastle’s opener. Another fraught, disjointed display.
Phil Jones 6 – Provided a strong physical presence, throwing himself in front of shots and harassing defenders all afternoon, only for his positional sense to wane in the second half and allow Dwight Gayle to set up a goal.
Ashley Young 6 – Frustrated with some loose balls and sloppy crosses in the first half but improved as an attacking presence as the game went on.
Nemanja Matic 6 – You sense that the Serbian, having played almost every Premier League game, could do with a rest. Moved the ball around sensibly but look sluggish at times, especially when Shelvey went forward.
Paul Pogba 4 – The Frenchman picked up a strain during the warm up and looked to be operating at 60% throughout the game, with his ambling nature allowing for the hosts to score from a set-piece. Shouldn’t have been on the pitch.
Jesse Lingard 5 – Sprung forward with intent at No.10 and always looked to link up with teammates, but failed to find the right final ball.
Anthony Martial 5 – Placed on the right to accommodate Sanchez, the 22-year-old, despite streaming forward confidently, never looked comfortable in front of goal. Could have easily claimed a hat-trick.
Alexis Sanchez 7 – An ebullient, tenacious attacking display from the Chilean. Posed an unpredictable and constant threat going forward, with his only shortcoming being his delay in pulling the trigger after rounding keeper Martin Dubravka.
Romeu Lukaku 7 – The Belgian’s performance deserved so much more: brilliantly held up the ball and released teammates on countless occasions.
Substitutes