Manchester United left it late to secure a vital victory against Crystal Palace in an entertaining encounter at Selhurst Park. Paul Pogba put the visitors ahead in front in first-half stoppage time after the officials failed to notice him standing offside and a handball by Zlatan in the build up.
James McArthur levelled matters for Palace midway through the second half before Zlatan settled matters in the 88thminute from Paul Pogbas wonderful pass.
We analysed each players performance and assigned them a rating from 1-10:
Crystal Palace
Wayne Hennessey – 7.5
The Welsh custodian made two fantastic saves to deny Rooney and Pogba in the first half and was called into action to save Rooney's and Lingard’s efforts in the second period.
Martin Kelly – 7
Kelly made a number of crucial tackles to stop Rooney and Blind from going forward down the flank but conceded the free-kick which led to United's opening goal.
Scott Dann – 6.5
The Palace skipper kept his defence in shape to neutralise United's threat but will take responsibility for not setting out his markers for United's first goal controversial though it was.
Damien Delaney – 7.5
Delaney made an outrageous back-heeled back pass to set up James McArthur for Palaces leveller and was solid in defence as well, making some clearances from United's crosses from the full-backs.
Joel Ward – 6
Ward had an average game at left-back, allowing the likes of Bailly and Darmian in either half to make overlapping runs and surge forward towards the byline.
James McArthur – 7.5
After a relatively opening 45 minutes, McArthur was more involved in the game in the second half. He realised Palaces urgency to get back in the game and pushed forward, occasionally getting a shot or two at goal to give de Gea some work to do. He scored Palaces equaliser to cap off a fine team move, though that would prove to be an incentive for United to push for a winner, which they eventually got.
Mathieu Flamini – 6.5
The ex-Arsenal midfielder making his first start this season manned his defence well in the first half and used his experience to play the ball out from dangerous positions. He was taken off at half-time for a more attack-minded Joe Ledley.
Lee Chung-Yong – 5.5
Lee provided barely a fraction of attacking impetus Zaha would have on the left-wing and was mostly resigned to defensive duties against Bailly and Mata. He was lucky not to get booked for a high foot on an injury-prone Bailly and often lost track of him for overlapping runs.
Yohan Cabaye – 7.5
Cabaye was probably Palaces best player on the pitch, getting himself involved in every Palace attack and delivering teasing free-kicks to test United's response to set-pieces. He even made a brilliant defensive block to prevent a Wayne Rooney shot from heading towards goal in the first half.
Wilfried Zaha – 6.5
Zaha appeared out of his natural position as a second striker and could have been better utilised on the wing. He made a couple of decent dashes when Palace counter-attacked, only to be thwarted by a defensive tackle or a blocked cross.
Christian Benteke – 5.5
The Belgian was left isolated due to the glut of United possession and was well marked during set-pieces. He failed to get a shot on target the whole game.
Substitutes:
Joe Ledley 7
Ledley made an instant impact, testing David de Gea with a good strike with his left foot, which went just wide. He was the spark Palace needed to get a foothold in the game, as they began to push bodies forward in an attempt to stage a fightback.
Zeki Fryers 5
He replaced Lee in the 80thminute and made no real impact on the game.
Frazier Campbell N/A
The ex-United striker came on for the final few minutes.
Manchester United
David de Gea – 6.5
He was called into action for the first time in the 62nd minute when James McArthurs fierce shot aimed for the top corner was tipped away for a corner. He was left helpless to do anything against James McArthur for Palaces goal.
Eric Bailly – 7
Bailly had a fantastic outing at right-back, often finding it too easy to find space near the byline and make overlapping runs behind Ward and Lee to put in a cross. A feared recurrence of a knee injury ended his night early in the second half.
Marcos Rojo – 7
Like in the game against Everton, the Argentine was probably lucky to stay on the pitch after a two-footed lunge on Zaha. Performance-wise, he showed solidity and never seemed to be intimidated by the presence of the tall Palace forwards.
Phil Jones – 7
Jones marked Benteke to near-perfection throughout the game, not giving him a single opportunity to make this aerial threat count.
Daley Blind – 7
Blind linked up well with Rooney on the left flank to help United create goal-scoring opportunities, but was left mostly frustrated due to some good tackling by Kelly. Apart from a 10-minute spell of Palace resurgence in the second half, he closed down Zaha and McArthur pretty well in his half.
Michael Carrick – 7
The veteran shielded his back-four excellently, covering up for any gaps and winning possession back from the opposition near his penalty area.
Ander Herrera – 7
The Spanish midfielder was a livewire in the attacking third, feeding the ball to Bailly and Darmian at right-back and teeing up his team-mate to have a shot at goal, while also having a swing or two himself. He quietly provides an extra dimension to United's attack with his decisive passing in and around the penalty box.
Juan Mata – 6
It was an off-day for Juan Mata. Who didn't seem to have any desirable impact on the game. The vision to cut open the Palace defence with that final pass was missing.
Paul Pogba – 9
The world-record signing was a class apart at Selhurst Park, dictating United's play in midfield with some eye-catching passing and perfectly weighted lofted balls to surprise the Palace defence. He may have scored from what looked like an offside position, but there could be no complaints about his assist for Zlatan late winner. It was a brilliant all-round display from him.
Wayne Rooney – 7.5
Rooney was constantly in the midst of United's dominance for a majority of the game, cutting in from the left and dribbling past opponents. He looked on course to score and equal Sir Bobby Charlton's record of 249 club goals multiple times, only to be denied by an impressive Hennessey.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 8
It was an excellent performance from Zlatan, dropping deep to help United maintain possession and bagging a late goal to give his side all three points. He also set up Jesse Lingard late in the game with a great through pass after cutting in from the right.
Substitutes
Matteo Darmian – 7
Darmian was given oceans of space by Ward for most of the second half to give himself time to put in quality crosses from the right wing.
Jesse Lingard – 6
Lingard came on for the final 20 minutes to give United some much-needed pace in a bid to regain their advantage after Palace had drawn level. He showed sporadic signs of the same and even found himself one-on-one with Hennessey after some good work by Zlatan, but his shot was well saved by the Welsh keeper.
Marcus Rashford – 5.5
Rashford was another forward thrown on for the final stages to inject some pace into United, but he couldn't make any significant contribution despite United managing to grab the winner.
