Crystal Palace 0-2 Manchester United: Four Things We Learned

Manchester United keep fighting for UEFA Champions League qualification, with a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park against Crystal Palace. Goals from graduate Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial give United important three points with two games remaining in the run-in.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side did well to combine in two really nice moves which resulted in goals, but overall it was not a perfect performance from the Red Devils. But the most important thing right now is the victory which sees United one point behind third-placed Chelsea and level on points with fourth-placed Leicester City.

Here is what we learned from tonight’s game.

Forwards Keeps Scoring

Manchester United’s attackers are still in great form. Ever since the restart, and since Solskjaer found out what his ideal front five is at this time, the Devils’ attackers were there to score goals in abundance. Maybe tonight there were not three, four or five goals, but the important thing was for them to keep banging them in. Marcus Rashford scored the opener after Bruno Fernandes’ incisive pass, but more importantly, after his own nimbly moves to get to the ball and get it into the net.

Anthony Martial did not have a tough task to score after a nice sequence of short passes, which had seen Rashford pass it for him to finish it all off.

Matic Changes Everything

This time around, Solskjaer decided he was to give the chance to Scott McTominay in midfield pairing with Paul Pogba, ahead of Nemanja Matic. The Serbian remained on the bench and had to wait 63 minutes before coming onto the pitch. That is when a stark difference occurred. Man United’s overall display was much more in control from that point on and the Devils were the one having their say on the final score.

Having Scott McTominay and Fred as defensive midfielders is all well and good, but we cannot oversee the fact that there is a real difference in class between the Serbian midfielder and the former two. That is not exactly a criticism of McTominay or Fred, but rather appreciation for what Matic is currently bringing to this team.

De Gea Equals Schmeichel’s Record With A Great Performance

David De Gea has been under a lot of criticism lately, for some of his performances, and there has always been a reason for that. But this time it was completely different, with the Spaniard producing some really good saves throughout the match. In fact, this was his 112th Preimer League match in which he did not concede a goal, equaling Peter Schmeichel’s club record in clean sheets kept. Wonderful milestone for De Gea!

Man United Two Wins From Champions League

With 180 minutes of football left to play in this campaign, Man United know exactly what they need to do – beat West Ham and beat Leicester City. That will be enough for them to qualify for the Champions League group stages as one of the top four teams in England. But things could also be much clearer after the next round of matches, when Chelsea will play Liverpool and Leicester will visit Tottenham in London.

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