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Players on the Spartak Moscow bench, including Vitinho, right, who had been subbed, opted to wear blankets
Pictured
MOS-COLD

CSKA Moscow players hit for four by Manchester United then forced to don leopard-print blankets in Champions League defeat

CSKA MOSCOW'S players were hit by a double whammy tonight - a 4-1 thrashing to Manchester United and the freezing cold.

Romelu Lukaku led the way with a double, and Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan also netted on an easy night's work for Jose Mourinho's men.

 Players on the Spartak Moscow bench, including Vitinho, right, who had been subbed, opted to wear blankets
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Players on the Spartak Moscow bench, including Vitinho, right, who had been subbed, opted to wear blanketsCredit: BT Sport
 Romelu Lukaku left the CSKA defence grounded as he plundered two goals on the night
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Romelu Lukaku left the CSKA defence grounded as he plundered two goals on the nightCredit: Reuters

Konstantin Kuchaev scored a consolation goal for the Russians in the 90th minute.

But for some of the players on the CSKA bench, there was little action on the pitch to warm the cockles.

Despite it being a positively balmy for Moscow seven degrees Celsius, players, including Vitinho who had been subbed, opted to put blankets on.

And they were a fashionable leopard-print design.

It only added to the picture of a disappointing night for the Russians, as United cruised to back-to-back victories in the Champions League.

United took the lead with only four minutes on the clock - and it was red-hot Romelu who was at it again.

 Jose Mourinho opted to done a fleece-like jumper to brave the Moscow chill
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Jose Mourinho opted to done a fleece-like jumper to brave the Moscow chillCredit: Rex Features
 Manchester United cruised to victory away at CSKA Moscow in the Champions League
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Manchester United cruised to victory away at CSKA Moscow in the Champions LeagueCredit: Rex Features

Lukaku played the ball down the left for Martial, then kept on running into the box where he met the Frenchman's cross in with a thumping header.

And the Russians were their own worst enemies when they went two goals down on 18 minutes.

Mkhitaryan had collected the ball in the box when he was bundled down in the crudest fashion by Georgi Schennikov.

Referee Jonas Eriksson had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, and Martial went from provider to goalscorer by stroking home the penalty to Igor Akinfeev's left.

Things got even worse for CSKA and again it was their own fault.

Martial played a ball into the box and 35-year-old Vitali Berezutski got it all wrong trying to clear with an air-shot, and Lukaku tapped home for his second 26 minutes in.

 Romelu Lukaku continued his red-hot scoring streak with a double against CSKA Moscow
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Romelu Lukaku continued his red-hot scoring streak with a double against CSKA MoscowCredit: Getty - Contributor
 There was some consolation joy for CSKA Moscow in the 90th minute when they scored the final goal of the game
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There was some consolation joy for CSKA Moscow in the 90th minute when they scored the final goal of the gameCredit: AP:Associated Press

The only surprise was that United didn't extend their lead still further with CSKA woeful in the first 45.

But ten minutes into the half, it was 4-0.

Daley Blind capitalised on some poor defending to play in Martial. His shot was saved well by Akinfeev, but the ball fell out to Mkhitaryan who fired home the rebound.

Three minutes later and it was job done for Mkhitaryan, with Jesse Lingard coming on to replace him.

CSKA managed to grab a late, late consolation in the 90th minute when Kuchaev beat David de Gea with a neat finish, but it was without doubt a great night for Mourinho and his squad.



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