Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in the Premier League at Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be happy that his team survived the first game of the injury crisis and he will be happy that his understudies persevered and got the team kicking, which is good to see as many of these players had been written off by the supporters during the past few months. This was United’s eighth away win in a row, a new club record.
Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in the 33rd minute of the match, after missing a sitter early in the first half. It was Luke Shaw who provided the assist, bombing forward into the box and laying the ball to the Belgian striker to slot home. Lukaku doubled United’s lead seven minutes into the second half, Victor Lindelof being the provider of the assist, this time inside the box with a header for the Belgian to find the back of the net. Palace got a goal back through Joel Ward in the 66th minute, which lifted their resurgence.
Man of the Match: Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian was one of three contenders for the Man of the Match in the 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace. Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw also had good games, both getting an assist, providing the goals for Romelu Lukaku. After the spell he has had, this will be a massive confidence booster for the Belgian, who had not found the back of the net for United since the 2-0 victory over Reading in the Emirates FA Cup at Old Trafford at the start of January. Hopefully, this could be the start of his rise in form.
Match Statistics:
Crystal Palace 1-3 Manchester United
⚽️ Ward 66'; Lukaku 33', 52', Young 83'
?️ Schlupp 66'; Shaw 33', Lindelof 52', Pogba 83' pic.twitter.com/u84XF2bdGk— ⚽️ MUFCLatest.com ⚽️ (@MUFCLatestnews) February 27, 2019
Manchester United
1 David De Gea
The Spanish number one was rarely tested in the first half of the game, but come the second, United were not the better team. He also clattered with the post early in the second half and seemed to be injured, but recovered.
18 Ashley Young
Started at right-back, despite Dalot also starting. Dealt with Zaha, although he had to put in a lot of work at times. Zaha beat him to get the cross into Ward for Palace's goal. Made up for that by scoring United's third, assisted by Pogba.
2 Victor Lindelof
The Swedish defender seems settled playing alongside Smalling. The iceman put in another decent performance and got himself an assist for Lukaku's second goal of the game.
Chris Smalling
Smalling was flawless at times and broke forward many times to help get United forward. A weak clearance saw Palace score though, which brought the nervous Smalling into the game. However, both he and United persevered. Shame United could not have kept a clean sheet.
23 Luke Shaw
The England international provided for Lukaku to open the scoring in the 33rd minute with an assist. One of the players of the season for United. Played with width, which is what United needed.
39 Scott McTominay
The Academy graduate was very disciplined in his game. Singled out on Twitter as a weak player but against both Palace and Liverpool, he has risen to the occasion.
17 Fred
The first half was something to forget for the Brazilian, who seemed unable to pass simply, even struggled with the more difficult passes, as you might expect from the first comment. Put down a peg or two by De Gea. In the second half though, he was a bit more positive. Probably rusty after not featuring in the league since Boxing Day. However, it could be that he won't make it at United.
20 Diogo Dalot
The Portuguese teenager played further forward than usual and had a good game. He was quick on the attack and unfortunate in the first half, having one touch too many before playing the ball in the box. His cross to Pogba was pretty impressive too. This lad is going to be a good player in a few seasons time. Dalot was replaced in the 77th minute by Bailly, ending his evening, of which he can hold his head high.
6 Paul Pogba
The Frenchman had an injury scare in the first half, but recovered. Seemed to play differently in the right, as opposed to the left, where he normally plays. However, he still got the assist for Young's goal, seeing United win 3-1.
Alexis Sanchez
This reminds me of Radamel Falcao's ill-fated season at United. Lost the ball too easily and seemed to need to be told where to be on the pitch by the manager. For the wages he's reported to be on, it is a massive waste of money.
Romelu Lukaku
Missed a sitter in the opening minutes of the match. Got another chance in the 33rd minute, assisted by Shaw and found the back of the net putting United ahead.
Substitutes
10 Marcus Rashford
Replaced Sanchez 77'. Recovered from the ankle injury he received on Sunday. Did plenty of running in the 20-odd minutes he played, which is good news based on the injuries at the club right now.
3 Eric Bailly
Replaced Dalot 77'. Helped add more defensive awareness in the latter stages of the match. Played well. Good to see him back on the pitch.
37 James Garner
Replaced Fred 90'. The 17-year-old made his debut, the 230th player from the Academy to do so. It will be a big occasion for him, less fraught as United were winning.
Goals: Joel Ward 66′; Romelu Lukaku 33′, 52′, Ashley Young 83′
Assists: Jeffrey Schlupp 66′; Luke Shaw 33′, Victor Lindelof 52′, Paul Pogba 83′
Manchester United: De Gea; Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Shaw; McTominay, Fred (Garner 90′); Dalot (Bailly 77′), Pogba, Sanchez (Rashford 77′); Lukaku
Substitutes Not Used: Romero; Rojo; Pereira; Chong
Bookings: Martin Kelly 41′, Wilfried Zaha 90+1′; Alexis Sanchez 69′, Luke Shaw 81′, Romelu Lukaku 90+5′
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