Manchester United came from 0-2 in the second half to pull off a 3-2 win at Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The home team had taken the lead on 11 minutes when Andros Townsend’s deflected effort wrong-footed David de Gea, before doubling their lead in the opening three minutes of the second half with a quickly taken free kick that allowed Patrick van Aanholt one-on-one with our goalkeeper.
However, Chris Smalling headed home 10 minutes into the second half before Romelu Lukaku showed his composure to tuck the ball home on 76 minutes after Alexis Sanchez’s deflected effort had looped onto the crossbar.
Nemanja Matic came up with the goods in the first minute of stoppage time with a stunning 30-yard strike to pick up the three points that move us back into second position in the Premier League.
Here are how our players fared:
David de Gea 6
Didn’t have a chance with the opener that deflected into the top corner but David de Gea’s position was terrible on the second goal which beat him at his near post. The Spaniard produced a stunning save from Christian Benteke at 1-2 to give us a chance to get back into the match.
Antonio Valencia 7
Failed to prevent Christian Benteke getting the ball to Andros Townsend on the edge of our penalty area for Crystal Palace’s opening goal but had Jeffrey Schlupp in his pocket down the wing. Antonio Valencia showed good attacking intent, creating a few chances and providing an excellent cross for Chris Smalling’s goal.
Chris Smalling 5
Didn’t close Townsend down for the hosts’ opener and fell asleep from the free kick that allowed Crystal Palace to double their lead with their left-back strolling in one-on-one with David de Gea. Chris Smalling’s goal did get us back in the game though.
Victor Lindelof 6
Struggled at times to handle Christian Benteke but a better performance from Victor Lindelof in terms of his positioning.
Ashley Young 5
Struggling defensively in recent weeks and was eventually substituted for Luke Shaw in the second half. Ashley Young offered little going forward at Selhurst Park too.
Nemanja Matic 8
Got on the ball, looked after it and walloped home a stunning stoppage time winner.
Scott McTominay 5
A quiet first half display as Scott McTominay was hauled off at the break. Enough time to pick up a yellow card but didn’t get too involved in the game.
Paul Pogba 7
After a disappointing first half Paul Pogba played a big part in our comeback by taking the game by the scruff of its neck. The French star got on the ball time and time again and drove forward in a dominating final half hour or so after a frustrating first half.
Jesse Lingard 5
A quiet first half but Jesse Lingard got more involved in the action after the introduction of Marcus Rashford.
Romelu Lukaku 7
The Crystal Palace defence didn’t allow Romelu Lukaku much space to receive the ball or do much with it. However, our striker did link up well with teammates around the penalty area and scored the equaliser when displaying his composure with a number of defenders in front of him to beat.
Alexis Sanchez 6
A frustrating performance from the Chilean who was conceding possession time and time again. Alexis Sanchez couldn’t get into the game down the left wing in the first half but was more productive after the break when he played more centrally.
Substitutes
Marcus Rashford (45 mins) 7 – The forward made a real impact after coming on at the break by driving at the Crystal Palace defence to give us more of an attacking impetus.
Luke Shaw (34 mins) 6 – A good show of attacking intent as Luke Shaw came on at 1-2 and ended up being on the winning side.
Juan Mata (34 mins) 7 – Some nice first touches and passes to help open up the Crystal Palace defence that ultimately led to breaking point for Roy Hodgson’s side.
