A brace of second-half goals from Wayne Rooney sealed a 2-0 victory for Manchester United over Sunderland this afternoon.

Rooney's first goal came from the penalty spot, while his second was a header from six yards out.

The visiting Black Cats also ended the encounter with 10 men following the dismissal of Wes Brown, who was sent off in a case of mistaken identity.

Here, Sports Mole looks back over the contest to rate the performances of all of the players on show at Old Trafford.

MAN UNITED

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Goal

David de Gea: He made a couple of good saves early on, but after that was a mere spectator as his side dominated the game. (6/10)

Defence

Antonio Valencia: With not too much defending to do, Valencia was given the freedom to attack. He did it well, linking up particularly positively with Januzaj in the second half. (7/10)

Jonny Evans: His passes back to De Gea may have been jeered by the home crowd, but Evans did little wrong during what was a solid outing. (6/10)

Chris Smalling: It was an extremely composed outing from Smalling, who showed good confidence in bringing the ball out of defence and then passing to a teammate. (7/10)

Marcos Rojo: The summer signing from Sporting Lisbon is by no means a natural left-back, yet he was decent enough. There were a couple of occasions, though, when his lack of creativity let him down. (6/10)

Midfield

Daley Blind: It was a largely unremarkable outing from Blind, who kept things simple for most of the game in the middle of the pitch. (6/10)

Ashley Young: To be fair to Young, he has turned his United career around under Louis van Gaal's management. He went close to scoring twice in the first half and sent over a number of dangerous crosses. (8/10)

Ander Herrera: Playing in a slightly deeper role than normal, the midfielder was neat and tidy in possession without ever setting the game alight. (6/10)

Angel di Maria: Arguably the worst performance of the Argentine's short career in England. He was consistently outmuscled and his decision making was poor, resulting in him being substituted at the break. (3/10)

Attack

Wayne Rooney: There were times when he was wasteful in possession, but his two goals proved to be the difference. There is no doubt that Rooney looks more comfortable further up the pitch. (7/10)

Radamel Falcao: The Colombian may argue that he did not get much service, but he was far too quiet. In fairness, it was his great piece of skill that won the penalty. (5/10)

Substitutes

Adnan Januzaj: The half-time substitute was arguably United's best player after the restart. He seemed to be playing with confidence as he consistently cut in from the right flank to cause problems. (8/10)

Marouane Fellaini: Brought on for his height, the big Belgian had one chance late on, but his shot was well saved. (6/10)

Juan Mata: The playmaker came on in the closing stages and got plenty of touches without creating anything of note. (6/10)

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SUNDERLAND

Goal

Costel Pantilimon: He could do nothing to stop the penalty, but Pantilimon will probably be disappointed that he parried Januzaj's shot into Rooney's path for the second goal. (6/10)

Defence

Anthony Reveillere: The right-back found it difficult up against an in-form Young. On a couple of occasions, he was twisted into knots by the United winger. (5/10)

Wes Brown: A refereeing error saw the former United defender unfairly red carded, which ruined a good performance. He kept Falcao quiet while he was on the pitch. (7/10)

John O'Shea: Lucky to stay on the field in the Brown incident following a clumsy tackle on Falcao. Apart from that, he did okay defensively. (6/10)

Patrick van Aanholt: The Dutchman did well up against Di Maria, but he really struggled to contain Januzaj in the second half. He took out his frustrations on the young Belgian with a poor challenge that earned him a booking. (5/10)

Midfield

Lee Cattermole: The early booking nullified a lot of what Cattermole brings to the team. From that moment onwards, he had to watch his step. (6/10)

Sebastian Larsson: We saw very little from the Swede in an attacking sense, although he did put in a good shift. (5/10)

Jordi Gomez: Similar to Larsson really. The Spaniard drew a couple of fouls in good areas, but Sunderland failed to make the most of those situations. (5/10)

Adam Johnson: Due to the fact that his side had very little possession, it was hard for Johnson to get involved. He did have one opening in the first half, but delayed his shot and the chance was snuffed out. (6/10)

Attack

Connor Wickham: Playing out wide, Wickham carried out his defensively duties well. However, as United dominated possession, he made little impact further up the pitch. (6/10)

Jermain Defoe: The January signing had a couple of early efforts from distance, but otherwise saw very little of the ball. (6/10)

Substitutes

Danny Graham: Came on when his side was down to 10 men, which meant that he cut a lonely figure up front. (5/10)

Santiago Vergini: The centre-back was solid enough following his second-half introduction. (6/10)

Steven Fletcher: Brought on for his height as the game drew to a close, but he received no service. (5/10)