One more four-nil for Manchester United as they see off toothless, pointless, Crystal Palace with the kind of clinical efficiency that would make a stereotypical German engineer proud. As routine as routine gets.
90' United win a freekick down the left and Young swings it into Marouane Fellaini (who is implausibly looking for a hattrick) but Hennessey comes out well and get his gloves around the ball.
88' Roy Hodgson is demanding effort from his players - but you've got to feel for them. Nothing has gone their way all season - and on top of last weekend's thrashing on the other side od MAnche8ster, this is just too much to handle, surely?
OH WOW! Herrera slips in Martial down the left wing and the Frenchman draws everyone to him before slipping in Lukaku - the big Belgian is all alone three yards from goal and he is NOT missing that.
84' OUCH! McArthur slams into Fellaini and the Belgian is on the ground feeling his forehead and seemingly in considerable pain. He does get back on his feet, though.
81' OH! OH! OH! MARTIAL! Herrera plays in a lovely little ball that finds Martial racing into the box... Hennessey does superbly to charge out of his goal and close him down. Just a corner, where it should have been four
78' Andros Townsend swings it toward the far post - looking for a header or the ball squeezing in inside the post - but it merely fizzes wide of De Gea's goal.
74' Poor ol' Sako is taken off for Freddy Ladapo... Palace threaten United's goal once again as Ward swings a lovely ball into the box where Riedewald is waiting. The Dutchman connects with nothing but fresh air and behind him, McArthur is caught unaware and the ball bounces off his knee!
72' Martial is on for Rashford... and he skins Ward immediately. How unfair on Palace to have to face an on-fire Martial just as they see the back of their previous tormentor-in-chief Marcus Rashford!
70' Oh YOUNG! The left-back takes a massive risk by underplaying a pass back to Smalling.... and United counter of the same move - Matic plays in Lingard who is brought down but LUKAKU GETS THE BALL, SKINS THREE DEFENDERS, SENDS THE KEEPER THE OTHER WAY AND PASSES IT JUST BEYOND THE FAR POST. HOW! HOW!
69' McArthur and Riedawald combine immediately to start off a good looking move for Palace but Cabaye's intelligent dink into Sako is well read by Smalling. The ball is then worked out to the right and Ward sends in a useful ball that Sako can only sky into the stratosphere.
68' SHOT! CABAYE! Utterly hopeless shot, but still. Hodgson makes a sub as Schlupp is taken for McArthur and Puncheon is taken for Reidawald. Damage limitation, me thinks
63' Rashford's taken one in the unmentionables - after Sakho gave it a right good slap. UGH! That looked painful - Crystal Palace continue playing nonetheless and win a corner as a Cabaye shot ricochets off Valencia.
62' OH! LUKAKU! The Belgian floats into the box, cuts back and goes the selfless route - trying to pick out Rashford; but Delaney does ever so well to intercept the ball.
61' OOO PALACE! Van Aanholt swings in a teasing ball from which Sako can't really get much purchase behind with his shot. Palace have played much better than one would expect from a team that haven't scored in 6, to be completely honest
60' Meanwhile, down in Paris, Neymar is making a good fist of the argument that he ought to be considered in any conversation on "Who is the best player on the planet"? One assist, one implausibly good freekick and PSG are strolling past Bordeaux.
59' Palace are still full of running, and once again it's the left flank of United that feels the most vulnerable thanks to Young and Smalling, but Palace have lacked the quality to do anything about it
57' Ashley Young and Mkhitaryan combine to win a corner which the Armenian plays short for the Englishman... but Young lashes his shot straight at Hennessey
55' Jones is covering for both Young and Smalling here - and intercepts a flowing Palace move, but slips in his attempt to clear - Sako gets away from the stull snipping-at-his-ankles Smalling and sends an interesting ball into the box and although Schlupp gets his noggin' to it, the header has no pace, no direction, and no real purpose.
53' OH COME ON LUKAKU! Matic feeds Lukaku with an out-of-this-world ball that leaves the defenders clutching at thin air. For once this season, the big Belgian's touch lets him down and allows Delaney to smash the ball away. Lukaku really ought to have caught that first time says your live-blogger sat on his comfortable chair in his air-conditioned office.
52' Schlupp drives at Fellaini and Jones and out-bullies both those belligerent United men but just as he looks to get into the box, Fellaini nicks the ball off his toes with a superbly timed challenge.
50' On a related not why does Smalling love opponents' shirts quite so much? It's ridiculous the amount of risks he takes - and is the reason he's now fourth choice centre-back at United (Once Rojo returns, that's fifth)
49' OOOO! CONTROVERSY! Smalling catches Schlupp with a shirt tug inside the box but the ref waves play on - that really ought to have been a penalty. Crystal Palace really can't catch a break here
OH! OH! OH! Young wins a freekick with some lovely footwork down the left. Rashford fizzes it in with great swerve and pace and straight onto the head of an utterly unmarked Fellaini - who has to but guide his header on target. That he does, and it's a brace for the big Belgian.
47' OH! RASHFORD! Lukaku drops deep and picks out Mkhitaryan with a lovely little dink in behind the Palace defence. The Armenian lays it off to Mata who in turn lays it off to Rashford, but the young man's shot is blocked by a couple of desperate Palace bodies.
46' MY! MY! How fast is Marcus Rashford? He skins Ward down the United left flank and swings in a useful looking cross that Delaney does exceptionally well to punt away from Lukaku's toes. Corner for United, but it's a rather rubbish one.
Straightforward for United as they lead bottom-side Crystal Palace 2-0; although they have taken their foot off the pedal and some better forward play from Palace could possibly see them punish the home side for their laxity.
Mourinho will spend the next 15 minutes telling everyone in red that he'll murder them all if they let that happen while poor ol' Roy Hodgson will be telling his wards to "NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER BACK DOWN!"
45' Zinedine Fellaini exhibits that magnificent chest control of his, along with a couple of keepy-ups with his knees, to work his way out of a troublesome corner and get United moving forward again... Old Trafford is unanimous in letting their appreciation be well known. What a difference a few months makes eh?
44' The corner is not cleared well enough and Mata swings it in to Mkhitaryan who smashes a flamboyant volley straight into the Manchester Shipping Canal
43' OI! OI! OI! CHANCE! RASHFORD! Mkhitaryan swings a lovely little ball out to Mata, who pings it into the box. Lukaku heads it on and Rashford takes a touch at the far post before trying to poke it into the near post, but Hennessey is alive to the danger.
42' ...CHANCE! Rashford, he of that brilliant right foot, sends in a superb ball that Smalling heads wide of goal from six yards. The Englishman is kicking himself for missing that one
41' Rashford plays a quick one-two with Lukaku and charges into the box where he tries to find Mkhitaryan but Delaney gets in the way. He then harries and hassles Townsend into giving away a corner...
38' OH MY WORD. Juan Mata is such a sumptuous footballer. Jones was forced to hack a clearance high under pressure from Sako and the little Spaniard killed it dead with a touch of that velvet left boot of his. WOOF.
37' Palace are, that last goal-conceded notwithstanding, playing so much better than they did in the opening twenty minutes. They ping the ball around purposefully at the edge ot the United box but Valencia is quite simply too powerful for Schlupp.
Young has been poor defensively but his crossing is what's gotten him into this team. He takes on Ward and swings a delicious ball into the box where Fellaini is waiting to turn it in. The big Belgian is on FIRE!
34' United are being dangerously lax here and Cabaye finds, even more, freedom down United's vacant left-hand flank to swing in a cross to the far post that has Valencia jittery - but the Ecuadorian deals with it well enough
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