Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United managed to make it 4 wins in the last 4 games in December as goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Daley Blind gave them all three points from their Boxing Day fixture at home against Sunderland. David Moyes was completely beaten in his first game back in Manchester as Mourinho’s side move within a couple of points off a place in the top-4 in the points table.
The manager will be happy with the performance of the side and will hope that they can keep up the good work throughout the season but how did each player fare in this game? Here are the player ratings for Manchester United in this victory:
David de Gea (6):
Was hardly troubled on the night except for the one strike where he produced a diving save to keep his side in the hunt for victory.
Antonio Valencia (7):
Put in a strong first half performance where he was influential at both ends of the field but was reduced to keep the defence tight in the second half to see off the game.
Phil Jones (7):
Slowly becoming a first teamer, Jones, put in a superlative effort to keep out Jermaine Defoe who started the game well. Helped his side to a victory by keeping Sunderland quite throughout the game.
Marcos Rojo (8):
Started the move that got Blind his goal and also kept the likes of Defoe and Borini out of harms reach to give his side all three points from this game.
Daley Blind (7):
Came in to replace Darmian on the flank and was initially nervous but slowly settled into the game and provided the breakthrough for his side that helped them end the game with a win.
Michael Carrick (6):
Was dwelling on the ball for too long at times during the game but put in a decent shift to provide cover for his back for to help his side to a victory.
Ander Herrera (8):
Put in the hard yards right from the start of the game as he managed to hurry Sunderland up, win the ball back in the midfield to keep his side dominant on the night.
Paul Pogba (9):
Arguably the best player on the pitch, Pogba, set up some lovely chances for his teammates throughout the game and was unlucky to not score on a night where he showed why he cost the money that he did in the summer.
Juan Mata (6):
Put in a decent performance by troubling the Sunderland defence at times but was absent for most of the attacks coming back into the starting XI after a while.
Jesse Lingard (6):
The English youngster produced a couple of brilliant moments in the final third but he could not effect the game enough for Mourinho’s 
liking who replaced him with Mkhitaryan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8):
Scored one set up another and played a role in the first goal on a productive night for the Swede who has found his goal scoring touch in the last few games.
Subs:
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (8):
Came into the game with almost half an hour to play and produced the moment of the week so far with his sensual finish late in the game to earn his side all three points.
Anthony Martial (6):
Added some pace and urgency to the United attack that helped them pile on the pressure on Sunderland late in the game.
Marouane Fellaini (6):
Came into the game to try and see off the last few minutes and did exactly that helping United hold out till the final whistle.