Newcastle United 0-4 Manchester United: Player ratings

Anders Lindegaard 7

Drafted in for the rested David de Gea, Lindegaard proved he's an excellent backup goalkeeper with at least three superb stops. A deserved clean sheet.

Antonio Valencia 6

It was a surprisingly quiet performance offensively from Valencia, but the Ecuadorian winger was excellent at the back. Newcastle had little joy down his right flank.

Chris Smalling 6

It was a perfectly adequate defensive performance from both centre-backs, though Smalling was a little less impressive than his partner.

Phil Jones 7

Jones has stepped up to the plate amid United's defensive injury troubles, and did so again here. A great performance from a player whose best position is quite clearly at centre-back.

Patrice Evra 5

It was a quiet performance from Evra, whose passing was pretty inaccurate after he picked up an early knock. His substitution didn't come as a great surprise.

Darren Fletcher 6

It was the kind of solid performance we've come to expect from Fletcher, who kept the play ticking over in midfield. If there is a criticism to be had, it's that he was a little quiet and ponderous in the first half, though given the final score, that's nitpicking.

Marouane Fellaini 5

When the Belgian was substituted in the second half, no one could have been too shocked. A couple of silly giveaways deep in United's midfield cost him, in one of his more disappointing performances of late.

Shinji Kagawa 8

It was perhaps Kagawa's best display in a United shirt to date. He was always lively and dangerous, drifting to link well with Mata and Hernández throughout, as well as laying on a nice assist for the latter just past the hour. Very promising.

Juan Mata 10

No one dared air their grievances, but we must have all been concerned over recent weeks that Mata's signing would turn out to be £40 million down the pan. Today emphatically showed what the Spaniard can offer. An exceptional performance, from his perfect free kick to his glorious assist for Januzaj's last-gasp fourth. He came to run the show in the second half, with this hopefully a sign of things to come.

Adnan Januzaj 7
On for Young, 18'

It was a fairly quiet first half for Januzaj, though he grew into the game as it wore on. His performance was capped by an excellent one-two with Mata, which he promptly dispatched for 4-0.

Javier Hernández 7

Hernández really struggled to get into the game in the first half, and always looked out of sync with the creative trio playing off him. When he did find himself through on goal, he couldn't score. In the second half he was much improved, laying on an assist for Mata before bagging a goal for himself.