Manchester United v Roma player ratings: Cavani a perfect 10, Pogba not far behind; Smalling 3

Cavani instrumental in United's 6-2 Europa League rout of Roma

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea 7 - Seldom saves penalties, but went the right way for Roma – but little chance of stopping it. Could do little for the second, but it’s rare for United to concede two. EPA

Aaron Wan-Bissaka 7 - Poor throw in ultimately led to Roma’s opener and the errors were described as ‘schoolboy’ by his manager, but got forward more in the second – which was the plan from the start to target the wide areas and get in behind Roma’s full-backs. Reuters

Harry Maguire 7 - Pellegrini’s cross went past him for a goal, but defended well in getting goal side of Dzeko as Roma’s counter attacks threatened. United’s defence concerned Solskjaer in the first half and he had strong words at half time. AFP

Victor Lindelof 7 - Uneasy watching Roma’s second but largely untroubled as his side dominated. He knew that Roma often played long balls to Dzeko and their more dangerous players, so the idea was to squeeze those forwards. As at Leeds, he had more touches than any other player on the pitch. Reuters

Luke Shaw 8 - Was always central to United’s plans to exploit the space around Roma’s full-back, but playing Pellegrini onside which led to Roma’s second goal wasn’t part of the plan. Livened up in the second half with a one-two with Pogba – and Roma couldn’t cope with the combinations. Hit a sublime pass which led to Bruno’s penalty. Fine season, fine performance. AFP

Fred 7 - Had to screen with McTominay and play the ball around Pellegrini and Mkhitaryan in the middle. Poor positioning for second Roma goal. United made two mistakes in the first half and they led to two goals, but Fred, like his teammates, improved well in the second half and looked annoyed to be taken off. AFP

Scott McTominay 7 - Key role with Fred to provide a base and try to force turnovers high up where United thought Roma would be vulnerable. Had a chance after 55 and then kneed a shot to safety in front of his own goal. Got around more in the second half – the best half of football played under Solskjaer. AFP

Bruno Fernandes 9 - Put his side ahead after 8 minutes with a beautifully taken pass from Cavani. Wayward free-kicks, a dragged shot and a well saved free-kick saw him remain a central creative force. Switched to the left for a time as Pogba went centrally. Set Cavani up for the second and scored the fourth with a penalty. Reuters

Marcus Rashford 7 - 50th European game and made runs which created space for others – something his manager admired. Sill, a more limited impact on the right. His cross for Cavani led to penalty. Didn’t shine like the Uruguayan – or Pogba or Fernandes, but he will on another day. AFP

Paul Pogba 9 - Rested v Leeds and fantastic start as he combined with Cavani and Fernandes to set up opening goal. Then unfortunately penalised for handball which allowed Roma back in the game as he tried to block a cross. Also given a bizarre yellow card in the second half, but got United’s fifth and it was one of his best performances. Excellent decision to play Pogba in there and attack how United did. Reuters

Edinson Cavani 10 - Perfectly weighted pass to set up Fernandes for the opening goal. Hurried double shot saved just before half time. Super finish to equalise. And them a straightforward finish to make it 3-2. Another unreal pass for Greenwood to make it 6-1. Led the line like a proper number nine and stretched the defence. Man of the match, a perfect performance. Reuters

SUB: Mason Greenwood 8 - Surprise that he didn’t start, but Solskjaer went for experience and the scoreline says he got it right. On for Rashford after 72. Smart finish to make it 6-2. Reuters

SUB: Nemanja Matic, on for Fred after 82. Couple of passes. EPA

SUB: Juan Mata, on for Fernandes after 90. Reuters

ROMA RATINGS: Pau Lopez - 5, There’s very little he could do to stop the opener before injuring himself saving a long-range effort from Pogba. EPA

Chris Smalling - 3, The former United man overcommitted in his attempts to stop Pogba for the opener, showed a real lack of awareness in the build-up to United’s second, kept Wan-Bissaka onside for the third, gave the penalty away for the fourth, while the ball went narrowly over his head for United’s fifth. Booked for a foul on Fernandes. Reuters

Bryan Cristante - 6, The 26-year-old was definitely Roma’s strongest player defensively, making some good clearances, though even he couldn’t plug the gaps that were opening up around him. Reuters

Roger Ibanez - 5, Came agonisingly close to clearing Fernandes’ opener but successfully made some good last-ditch interventions. The Brazilian got away with an awful ball across the face of goal. EPA

Rick Karsdorp - 6, The Dutchman’s determination to keep the ball in won the penalty that lead to the equaliser, and some of his other play going forward was brilliant. Could have perhaps done more to get back and put Cavani under pressure for the Uruguayan’s goal. Reuters

Amadou Diawara - 4, Didn’t do that much with the ball at his feet and one poor pass that was intercepted almost got Roma in trouble. Couldn’t break up United’s midfield play once the men in red got going. Looked like he was carrying an injury in the latter stages. EPA

Jordan Veretout – N/R, Kicked the ball out due to injury with just two minutes on the clock, and despite trying to continue, the Frenchman was forced to do the same thing moments later. AFP

Leonardo Spinazzola - 7, Played a couple of poor passes but did a brilliant job of dealing with Rashford. He also posed a threat going forward, making a great run up the pitch to start the move for Roma’s second of the game. Reuters

Lorenzo Pellegrini - 8, It felt inevitable that something would happen whenever the 24-year-old had the ball in the first half. He scored his penalty well despite De Gea diving the right way, then selflessly played the ball to Dzeko for the second. However, he was anonymous in the second period. AFP

Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 7, The former United man showed real intelligence with his pass to Pellegrini in the build-up to Roma’s second. He was often willing to receive the ball and work for the team, even when things were falling apart. EPA

Edin Dzeko - 7, Showed his predatory instinct to score Roma’s second from close range. The Bosnian also battled brilliantly to hold the ball up and help the away side get up the pitch in the first half. Like Pellegrini, he was quiet in the second. EPA

SUB Gonzalo Villar (Veretout 5’) - 5, Couldn’t always get involved in the game despite working hard, but it was his pass that resulted in Karsdorp winning the penalty. Booked for a foul on Pogba. EPA

SUB Antonio Mirante (Lopez 28’) - 4, The 37-year-old came out well to deny Cavani after Ibanez’s poor pass, but fumbled the ball straight to the Uruguayan’s feet for United’s third. Could have done more to stop Greenwood’s effort. Reuters

SUB Bruno Peres (Spinazzola 37’) - 4, The Brazilian was largely quiet and showed poor judgement at times, with his positioning leaving Roma so exposed for United’s sixth goal. AFP

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he would do everything in his power to try and convince striker Edinson Cavani to stay at the club for another season.

The Uruguay international scored twice, assisted two more and earned a penalty to help United fight back from 2-1 down to defeat AS Roma 6-2 in their Europa League semi-final first leg at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Cavani arrived at United on a one-year contract in October with an option of another 12 months, but remains undecided about whether to remain at Old Trafford after a difficult season which included a social media faux pas that resulted in a three-game ban.

"I'm delighted with him," Solskjaer said. "You can see the difference in him when he's worked on his fitness. He's making up for lost time, it looks like.

"He's more than just a goal poacher and good goalscorer. He's played for so long that he has that calmness and composure about him. He's showing his experience. We want the experienced players to step up and he definitely has done.

"He knows I'd love to have him for another year."