Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo delivered an impressive performance during the 4-2 FA Cup win over Newport County in the FA Cup fourth round.
The Red Devils booked their spot in the fifth round of the competition with a victory at Rodney Parade but they had to work hard for the result in the second half.
The club raced into a two-goal lead after just 13 minutes on the clock, but Newport made a surprise comeback to pull themselves level at 2-2 shortly after the break.
Antony scored from a rebound off a Luke Shaw shot to make it 3-2 in the 68th minute. United had to wait until stoppage time to put the game to bed.
Newport came on the cusp of netting a late equaliser in front of their fans, but Rasmus Hojlund ended their hopes, scoring in the 94th game of the game.
It was a mixed bag of performances from United’s players. We were particularly impressed by Mainoo who started from the number eight position yesterday.
The teenager played higher up with Casemiro back in the XI. Aside from his goal, he completed 27 out of his 31 passes, won five duels and was dispossessed just five times.
His statistics were not exemplary compared to recent outings, but he was far better than Casemiro, who had a difficult return to the line-up after his injury lay-off.
The Brazilian star completed only 31 out of his 47 passes. He lost possession on a staggering 17 occasions and made four fouls. He was clearly far from his best.
United are scheduled to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on the road on Thursday in the Premier League. We could see Mainoo back in the number six role.
Christian Eriksen or Scott McTominay could line up alongside Mainoo in our opinion.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com
