4 Major Talking Points As Man United Beat Crystal Place 3-2 At Selhurst Park

4 Major Talking Points As Man United Beat Crystal Place 3-2 At Selhurst Park
22:12, 05 Mar 2018

Manchester United came from two goals behind to record a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Monday night.

Andros Townsend opened the scoring in the 11th minute, before Patrick Van Aanholt sent the Eagles two goals ahead early in the second period.

Chris Smalling headed United back into the match in the 55th minute, however, before Romelu Lukaku levelled the scores in the 76th minute.

Nemanja Matic then came up with a stunning long-range winner in the 91st minute as United ensured that they would return to second position in the Premier League table.

Below are four talking points from the clash in London.

United recover from two down to win at Selhurst Park

The visitors entered the match knowing that a win would see them return to second position in the table ahead of Saturday’s opponents Liverpool, and that was indeed the case courtesy of Matic’s late effort.

United’s first chance of the night fell to Alexis Sanchez inside five minutes, but the Chilean’s close-range header was saved by Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. The warning signs were there in the early moments as Palace continued to look long into Alexander Sorloth and Christian Benteke, and Victor Lindelof was simply not comfortable when the ball was in the air.

There was a touch of fortune about the Townsend opener due to the deflection, but Palace deserved to go ahead due to their willingness to force the issue. United, on the other hand, were extremely poor as they continued to relinquish possession.

Jesse Lingard sent one wide of the Palace post five minutes before the break, but United did nowhere near enough in the first half to deserve to enter the interval on level terms. Jose Mourinho would have been looking for a reaction after the break, but Palace went 2-0 ahead in the 48th minute.

The response from United was strong though, with Smalling heading past Hennessey in the 55th minute for 2-1. Mourinho then took off both full-backs in the 67th minute as Juan Mata and Luke Shaw were sent on, and Matic thought he had equalised 20 minutes from time only for his effort to be cleared off the line by Benteke.

Romelu did level with a low strike in the 76th minute, however, which set the match up for a potentially explosive finish. It appeared that the points would be shared as the match entered injury time at 2-2, but Matic’s long-range effort secured a huge win for the Red Devils.

United had to be victorious ahead of Liverpool match

A draw or defeat for United at Selhurst Park would not exactly have been catastrophic in terms of their top-four hopes, but it would have kept them behind Liverpool in the table ahead of this weekend’s clash at Old Trafford.

Mourinho’s side now sit above their bitter rivals with Saturday’s fixture on the horizon, and it promises to be a fascinating affair in Manchester. Liverpool will enter the match having won four of their last five in the Premier League, and Jurgen Klopp’s side will rightly be full of confidence.

Each of the last three Premier League meetings between United and Liverpool have finished level, while the Merseyside club have not actually beaten the Red Devils in the top flight since a 3-0 win at Old Trafford in March 2014.

There are bound to be fireworks on Saturday afternoon as both teams battle for what would be a gigantic three points. United have won 11 of their 14 home Premier League matches during the 2017-18 campaign, but Klopp’s free-scoring Liverpool will be looking to cause some damage at Old Trafford.

Pogba demonstrates why Mourinho has left him out this season

In terms of pure talent, there are few midfielders in the world of football that can match Paul Pogba. The Frenchman should be dominating games for United, but something is just not right at the moment.

United supporters had been crying out for Pogba to start on the left of a midfield three. That was the case against Chelsea last week, and he was effective against the Blues at Old Trafford. It was a different story against Palace, however, with the 24-year-old struggling to make an impact.

Too often he wanted to switch the play with a Hollywood pass rather than look for the simple ball into a teammate. The frustration stems from the fact that the France international has the potential to be an absolute superstar.

Pogba was much better in the second period, and brought a decent save from Hennessey in the 67th minute, but it was still nowhere near good enough from a player that was signed to help restore the club to the very top. Liverpool will now visit Old Trafford on Saturday, and Pogba needs a huge game.

Palace show plenty of fight but poor run continues

The defeat to United means that Palace are without a win in the Premier League since recording a 1-0 victory over Burnley on January 13. The Eagles have now lost each of their last three, with that poor run of form leaving them in 18th position in the table with just nine games of the 2017-18 campaign left to play.

Just one point separates Palace from the safety of 17th position, but they are finding it very difficult to win football matches at this particular moment, and it does not get any easier as they prepare to travel to a wounded Chelsea next weekend. Roy Hodgson’s side will then visit Huddersfield Town before welcoming Liverpool to Selhurst Park at the end of this month.

Palace performed heroically to open up a two-goal lead, but they simply could not deal with the pressure in the latter stages as they passed up the chance to record what would have been a huge three points. Sorloth again started through the middle alongside Benteke, and it was not a surprise that Palace looked to play into the two powerful forwards in the early exchanges of the contest.

The opening goal arrived courtesy of smart work from Benteke, who worked the space before feeding Townsend, and the 26-year-old’s effort was deflected into the top corner. Sorloth then tested David de Gea with a low strike in the 19th minute as United continued to wobble at the back.

Townsend flashed another over the crossbar just before the 30-minute mark, but Palace were without the ball for long stages of the first period as United looked for a route back into the match.

The home side doubled their lead early in the second period, however, when quick thinking from Jeffrey Schlupp released Van Aanholt, who produced a smart finish to feed the ball past De Gea.

At that point, United could not have got much worse, and as a result, it was not a surprise when the visitors started to improve. Smalling headed Mourinho’s side back into the match in the 55th minute, and Palace continued to sink deeper and deeper as the clock ticked on in the English capital.

United deserved to level the scores at 2-2, but only a wonderful save from De Gea prevented Benteke from heading Palace back ahead moments after Lukaku’s strike, before the heartbreak of Matic’s stunning hit occurred. Conceding a 2-0 lead on home soil will be seen as a big disappointment, but Palace showed plenty of fight against United, which will stand them in good stead as they battle to remain in the top flight of English football.

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