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Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in the Premier League, courtesy of goals from in-form forwards Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Crystal Palace were the better side in the first half, asserting control in midfield and good moments in attack, testing David de Gea a few times. Manchester United slowly grew into the game, and went ahead just before half-time after Rashford's lovely finish.
Palace continued to attack in the second half, and had a Jordan Ayew goal controversially ruled out by VAR. United again grew in stature as the second half progressed, with Bruno Fernandes hitting the post.
Anthony Martial doubled the lead, finishing off an excellent team move by putting the ball in the bottom corner. Both Rashford and Martial now have 22 goals in all competitions this season.
Palace offered little resistance after that, with United cruising to victory despite not being at their very best. Here, We look at the 5 talking points from the game.
#5 Another sloppy start by Manchester United
Similar to the Southampton and Aston Villa matches, Manchester United had a slow start to the game.
Crystal Palace dominated the early part of the proceedings, with star winger Wilfred Zaha bringing out a sharp save from David de Gea. The Palace players looked in control, with United finding it difficult to progress the ball. It would be fair to say that the players looked a little tired from the very beginning, having played huge amounts of football since the restart of the Premier League.
Having said that, this area is something that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to work upon. Against Aston Villa, a controversial penalty from Bruno Fernandes acted as the tonic. Against Southampton, Stuart Armstrong drew first blood and gave United a wake-up call.
Having control from the very beginning is going to be very important if Manchester United have any aspirations of challlenging for trophies in the near future.
#4 Manchester United missed Nemanja Matic
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided to rest Nemanja Matic, and played Scott McTominay in the defensive midfield position. The change in the style of play was evident.
Manchester United were chaotic in the initial stages, and clearly missed Matic's experience and composure. McTominay is not a bad player by any means, but he fails to offer anything substantial to the United squad. The Scotland international is tenacious and works hard, but the truth is that he does not look like the heir to Matic's throne.
He didn't look comfortable on the ball, and seems to lack confidence in possession. Calm on the ball and defensively sound, as well as being left-footed, the Serbian Matic is currently one of the best defensive midfielders in the league.
He has signed a contract extension, which means that United are unlikely to buy a defensive midfielder this summer. However, it should be on the cards, sooner rather than later given Matic's age.
#3 Timothy Fosu-Mensah
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not surprised a lot of people with his team selection since the restart. In fact, the majority of Manchester United's fans have been happy with Solskjaer's choices so far.
However, his decision to play Timothy Fosu-Mensah at left-back raised a lot of eyebrows. With injuries to Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams, it was expected that Diogo Dalot would be given a run in that position. Despite Dalot being available, Solskjaer picked Fosu-Mensah to start — his first for Manchester United in three years.
Neither Fosu-Mensah nor right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka are particularly good going forward. Luke Shaw caused a majority of the ball progression from the left-hand side, but Fosu-Mensah isn't the Englishman. Both full-backs failed to contribute meaningfully in attack, meaning that the burden of creativity was carried solely by the midfielders and the front three.
Also Read: Top 10 Premier League midfielders this season (2019/20)
#2 Manchester United need to rest players
Solskjaer has faithfully stuck with a familiar lineup since the restart, and the effects are beginning to show.
Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United's talismanic midfielder, looked short of inspiration against Crystal Palace. There was no doubting the commitment, but the Portguese simply looked tired and worn. It is not easy for any footballer to play the amount of games that almost every top player has played since the restart. Fernandes looked like he could do with a rest, even though he assisted Marcus Rashford's goal.
The same applies to Mason Greenwood. It was rumoured that Daniel James would be used on the right-wing today, owing to an injury to Greenwood. However, he started the game, and looked to running on fumes.
Burnout is a serious issue, which could lead to future problems. Solskjaer needs to be aware of that.
#1 Crystal Palace proved to be tricky opponents
Manchester United have had relatively easy outings in the Premier League since the restart, bar the Southampton game.
However, Crystal Palace were comfortably United's trickiest opposition. Roy Hodgson, as expected, implemented a low-block, which hindered United's tired attack. By crowding the midfield zone, Palace placed encouraged their wingers, Andros Townsend and Zaha, to bomb forward.
Full of rugged tackles and stoic defensive actions, Hodgson's men made United earn their victory. They were the better attacking side in the first half, testing David de Gea a couple of times as well.
Manchester United may have won the game, but it wasn't easy by any means. The Red Devils more often than not will encounter teams like Crystal Palace when they face the lower half of the table. They need to be ready for the challenge and break them down.
Also Read: 5 players who can replace David Silva at Manchester City
