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Manchester United secured an important 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday, January 4.
Erik ten Hag's United have looked like a formidable side in the last few weeks, digging deep and grinding out results as a unit. Marcus Rashford has been the shining light during this spell as he was also named Premier League's Player of the Month for January. The Dutchman looked to continue this run as he fielded a full-strength team.
Palace, on the other hand, have suffered stutters along the way since the league resumed following the World Cup. They have slipped down to 12th in the league table after a string of below-par performances. However, with one half of the season yet to be played, Patrick Vieira and his men were eager to finish strong.
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Manchester United were handed the perfect start as Marcus Rashford earned a penalty within five minutes. A VAR check followed the incident and the decision was upheld. Bruno Fernandes stepped up and converted from the spot to put the hosts 1-0 ahead.
United continued their dominance as they prevented Crystal Palace from settling into a rhythm by not letting them keep possession of the ball for long. The Eagles were allowed just 39% of the ball, limiting their offensive threat. The hosts attempted 12 shots but were not very clinical in the first half as they were left to rue their missed chances.
However, Manchester United led 1-0 at the break.
Ten Hag waited just 15 minutes after the game restarted before turning to his bench as he brought Garnacho into the game in place of Weghorst. Shortly after, Rashford seemingly put Manchester United out of Crystal Palace's reach as he doubled their lead after 62 minutes. However, things quickly went south for the Red Devils.
Casemiro was given his marching orders after a VAR check of an incident in which he grabbed Palace's Will Hughes by the neck. The hosts were forced to play the last 15 minutes or so with 10 men. Jeffrey Schlupp gave Palace a lifeline late in the game as he flicked the ball into the net after a shot from his teammate drifted wide.
After a nervous ending to the game, United did well to hold on and walked away with all three points. On that note, here are the five talking points from the game.
#5. Manchester United need to be more clinical
Erik ten Hag has undoubtedly turned the mentality of the dressing room around this season, with United looking like a formidable opponent for anybody. Players are willing to go the extra mile, put in the hard yards, and work as a team to earn results. They did that in the first half today as they created several chances. Most of their forwards attempted a shot as they collectively attempted 12.
However, if Manchester United are to beat the big teams and get past them in the table, they will need to be much more clinical and efficient in front of goal as their chances will be limited.
#4. Crystal Palace lack a goal threat from open play
Palace and United went head-to-head less than two weeks ago when the Eagles snuck away with a point late in stoppage time. Michael Olise converted a lovely free-kick in the 93rd minute to snatch a point. However, aside from that goal, Palace lacked any bite for the rest of the game.
In today's game as well, they were overly reliant on dead ball situations to create goalscoring opportunities. However, with United defending well, things were tough for the hosts.
#3. Erik ten Hag must rotate his squad more
It has been nearly two weeks since Casemiro received a booking in the Carabao Cup and was ruled out of Manchester United's crunch match against Arsenal - one which they eventually lost. Since then, Ten Hag has been adamant and started nearly the same XI in every game, barring one or two changes.
Key players Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, and David De Gea have barely been given an entire game off as they have featured at some point in the 90 minutes. With a heavily-congested few weeks awaiting them, it remains to be seen whether Ten Hag will give Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho more playing time.
#2. Casemiro needs to keep himself in check
Just one game after returning from a one-game suspension which led to the Brazilian missing the crunch clash against Arsenal, Casemiro got into further trouble today. During a fracas between the Manchester United and Crystal Palace players, he was seen grabbing Will Hughes by the throat and was sent off for violent conduct following a VAR check.
His actions were completely unnecessary and uncalled for as United had just doubled their lead seconds before his sending off. He now faces a two-game ban due to it being a straight red.
#1. Manchester United are riding on their luck
Despite starting games in dominant fashion, United have seldom been able to convert strong starts to a comfortable win in recent weeks. Whether this is down to a lack of rotation or some other reason is yet up in the air. However, they have gotten away with a drop in performances one too many times and it seems their luck could soon end.
