Wembley starters were chosen before the game
Jose Mourinho's XI at Bournemouth was always bound to spark debate before a ball had been kicked after his weekend comments.
Mourinho opined some under-performers had played their way out of his FA Cup semi-final team following the woeful West Brom defeat and he made seven changes at the Vitality Stadium.
Some of those 'dropped' were undoubtedly rested.
Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku sat on the bench or in the stands and can be assured of starting berths at Wembley.
Captain David de Gea can, too, with the injured Sergio Romero the only first-team squad member who has not traveled south of the M6 and unlikely to recover in time.
Alexis Sanchez dropped out of the Bournemouth team but has not cashed anywhere near as many credits as the aforementioned quintet and Eric Bailly has started one of the last four.
United have a new Wembley starter
Ander Herrera began the game by scolding Chris Smalling for not offering to take the ball off De Gea and moments later Phil Jones waved him away and ignored the Spaniard's presence inside the United third.
The hyperactive Herrera was affronted by the unwillingness of United's centre-halves to play out from the back, although if Mourinho had wanted that he would have started Bailly and or Victor Lindelof.
Herrera was United's outstanding performer before his incisive pass breached the Bournemouth defense and allowed Jesse Lingard to assist Smalling.
The Basque played with a tempo that was befitting of a United starter playing for a place in the Tottenham team. On a night he was overlooked as captain, Herrera acted like one.
Omitting Herrera at Spurs in January was a costly error and Mourinho is unlikely to do so again after the 28-year-old dominated United's win.
Jesse Lingard, substituted on the hour mark, headed straight down the tunnel in what was maybe another indicator of a semi-final starter. Mourinho's side could be exactly the same as the one which recovered at City.
Pogba comes alive
Pogba was en route to reuniting with Lingard in the dressing room before he was called back to the bench. The Frenchman earned a pat on the back from Mourinho and his withdrawal late on, like Herrera's, suggested Pogba would keep his place in United's season-defining match in the capital.
It seemed unlikely Pogba would earn the honor of a 'rest' in the first-half. He was tidy and serene, yet lackadaisical and hardly effected the United attack.
That changed in the second-period, where Steve Cook was fortunate to avoid a red card for maliciously upending the United midfielder, who recovered to burst into the opponent's half again and assist Lukaku's clincher.
Shaw gets Mourinhoed
Just like his 45 minutes against Brighton last month, this was another fair performance from Luke Shaw but it could not save him from a Mourinho rebuke in the first-half.
It was difficult to discern what Shaw had done to displease his manager, who was uncharacteristically seated for the majority of the match, and it was just as well Shaw was not within earshot after the pause when his suspect positioning could have resulted in a Bournemouth penalty at 1-0.
On an evening where Mourinho recalled four players from the Old Trafford departures' lounge to the matchday squad, only a truly 'phenomenal' performance would have made him think twice about playing them against Tottenham. Shaw fell below that level.
New contract overdue for Jones
Phil Jones has missed three months of the season through injury and it was a pity his latest lay-off came following losses at Newcastle and Tottenham, where he comically punted the ball into his own net.
his has otherwise been a decent campaign for the United centre half, a genuine untouchable during their early season form and he regained it at the Vitality Stadium in his first appearance since February 11.
Jones' rugged defending was required to keep the mercurial trio of Joshua King, Jordan Ibe and Ryan Fraser at bay and he made valuable contributions at 0-0 and 1-0.
It seems perverse Marcos Rojo, effectively the fifth-choice central defender, earned a new deal ahead of Jones as he approaches his last 12 months.
Sending out the wrong message?
The only running Marouane Fellaini had done prior to his Bournemouth run-out was down his contract, which expires in just over two months.
United are resigned to the Belgian leaving and a source described Fellaini as 'gone' earlier this week, which is unlikely to have pleased Scott McTominay or Michael Carrick, only on the bench as a coach.
Matteo Darmian said at the weekend Juventus' interest in him was 'pleasing' and on the south coast he was selected for his first Premier League start since October. At one point he even issued an apology to an opponent - for kicking the ball at him. No wonder United are in the market for a right-back in the summer.
M.E.N.
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