Manchester United March On Despite Injuries
By Marc Gingell
27th February 2019
Manchester United, with more than a team of midfielders stuck in the treatment room, made it six Premier League away wins in a row with Romelu Lukaku stepping up to the plate with a brace.
| KO:20:00 | Selhurst Park | Crystal Palace | 1 | Manchester United | 3 |
| REF: M Atkinson | Joel Ward 66′ | Romelu Lukaku 33′, 52′ | |||
| ATT: 25,754 | Ashley Young 83′ | ||||
Romelu Lukaku
Since Solskjær’s arrival, Lukaku’s played a peripheral role for United with Marcus Rashford taking centre stage. But with Rashford, starting on the bench due to his fitness doubts after being injured against Liverpool on Sunday, Lukaku took his opportunity with a match-winning performance.
After missing a great chance from a corner Lukaku opened the scoring on 33 minutes following a good run from Luke Shaw. From the edge of the box, he side-footed into the left corner of Palace keeper’s Vicente Guaita’s goal. On 52 minutes Lukaku doubled the lead with a clever left-foot hook, from the right of Palace’s six-yard box, after a header from Victor Lindelöf. A difficult finish, that he made look easy, and Lindelöf’s first assist this season.
Ward Pulls One Back
On 66 minutes Joel Ward managed something that no other Premier League player has done since Solskjær took over. A goal in open play for a home side! Ward met
Jeffrey Schlupp’s left side cross at the back post with a fine diving header to end more than eight hours of away-day United shut-outs.
Ashley Young
The ever-green Young blamed himself for that goal but made amends in the 83rd minute when he completed the scoring firing in from the right just outside Palace’s six-yard box.
Player Ratings
Crystal Palace: Guaita (5), Ward (6), Tomkins (5), Kelly (5), Van Aanholt (5), McArthur (6), Milivojevic (5), Schlupp (6), Townsend (6), Batshuayi (5), Zaha (5).
Subs: Meyer (5), Kouyate (5), Benteke (5).
Man Utd: De Gea (6), Young (7), Lindelof (6), Smalling (6), Shaw (6), McTominay (7), Fred (6), Pogba (7), Young (7), Sanchez (5), Lukaku (8).
Subs: Bailly (5), Garner (n/a), Rashford (5).
