Man Utd 2-0 Reading: Mata & Lukaku’s goals send Red Devils to FA Cup Round 4

Manchester United are through to the fourth round of the FA Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win over Reading.

Match Events

16' CHANCE! Sanchez´s shot over the bar

OVER! United open up the Reading defence with a slick attacking move as Fred, Lukaku and McTominay combine to tee up Sanchez on the edge of the box. The Chilean goes for the curler into the top corner, but he just lifts his strike a fraction over the bar.

20' OFFSIDE! Fred´s goal disallowed

United open up the Reading defence with an incisive move between Fred and Mata. The Brazilian combines with the midfielder before finishing low into the bottom corner. The linesman has his flag up for offside to disallow the goal. 

22'Penalty Goal! Man Utd 1-0 Reading (Mata)

MATA CONVERTS!! UNITED 1-0!!! The Spaniard opens the scoring this afternoon as he holds his composure from 12 yards. Mata curls his effort into the bottom corner, sending Jaakkola the wrong way.

30' MISS! Loader's shot wide out

CHANCE! Harriott gets behind Young on the right flank and offloads towards Loader through the middle. The striker only has to beat Romero, but he loses his composure and fails to fire an effort at goal as Romero on the recovery scoops the ball out for a corner.

49'GOAL! Man Utd 2-0 Reading (Lukaku)

GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!! LUKAKU DOUBLES UNITED'S LEAD!!! 2-0!!! The home side extend their advantage as Lukaku rounds Jaakkola before slotting into an empty net. Swift gave the ball away in the build-up, allowing United to break with speed. Sanchez released the Belgian beyond the last defender and he took a touch to evade the Reading keeper and then finished from a slight angle. It's harsh on the visitors, but United have been clinical.

53' SAVE! Romero denies Harriott's shot

SAVE! Aluko does brilliantly in the final third to pull the United defence one way then the other. He slides a throughball into the path of Harriott in the box. The winger strikes his attempt first time low and hard at goal, but Romero makes a good save with his feet. Reading are still in this game.

71' SAVE! Aluko's shot saved by Romero

SAVE! Young loses out to Harriott on the flank and Reading break with menace. The ball comes to Barrow on the left and he combines with Aluko to set up a shooting chance. He doesn't make clean contact, but it forces Romero into action, palming the ball past the post.

Match Reports

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were not at their best, but first-half goals from Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku were enough to secure the victory - their fifth in a row since the Norwegian replaced Jose Mourinho. The Royals put a good effort at Old Trafford and had they been more clinical in the final third it could have been a different story. Danny Loader, Callum Harriott and Andy Yiadom all missed good opportunities. It was not the result Jose Gomes would have wanted, although there are positives to take into their Championship campaign as their battle against the drop resumes next week.

Player Ratings

Line-ups

Man Utd XI: A. Young, A.Sánchez, S. Romero, Darmian, J.Mata, R. Lukaku, P. Jones, Fred, A.Pereira, Diogo Dalot, S. McTominay

Subs: M. Fellaini, L. Grant, V. Lindelöf, A.Martial, M. Rashford, J. Garner, T. Chong

Reading XI: A. Jaakkola, G. McCleary, L. Moore, Andy Yiadom, Callum Harriott, Tiago Ilori, J. Swift, L. Kelly, Andy Rinomhota, Danny Loader, Omar Richards

Subs: J. O'Shea, C. Gunter, S. Aluko, Sam Walker, M. Barrow, Yakou Meite, Ryan East