Manchester United at Crystal Palace – 5 Things We Learned

A good performance from Tony Pulis’ men saw them eventually fell to the irresistible firepower of one of the strongest lineups we’ve seen from Manchester United in quite a while.

The first time Van Persie, Rooney, Mata, and Januzaj started together saw a 2-0 repeat of the last time the Reds met Crystal Palace.  Five things we learned from today’s match: 

1. United’s midfield isn’t completely worthless. 

With the warm weather training in Dubai, they seem to have worked on how to play the game and not just walk around on the pitch. Meaningful passes, good defensive play, and tight marking allowed Moyes’ men to dictate play.

Given that the Eagles didn’t challenge for the ball in midfield until after the half hour mark, it was still a good performance.

2. Tony Pulis’ sides know how to defend. 

No new news here, but it bears repeating. Coming into the match playing very disciplined, they saw no reason to stop that.

For the first hour, they just sat back, absorbed pressure, and counter-attacked when they could.

Only when they subbed Jerome in, trying to attack a bit more, did the space open up for Patrice Evra to make the run which resulted in a penalty for United.

 3. Marouane’s under-appreciated play. 

For someone who gets the grief Marouane Fellaini does, he sure plays pretty well. Striding confidently forward, protecting the ball, making good passes, and being that big physical presence that Manchester United so sorely needs in central midfield, he was impressive.

Somewhat reminiscent of Paul Scholes, what he does is under the radar, behind the scenes work. He did sky a 14 yard kick with an open goal, but other than actually shooting on goal, he had an almost flawless performance.

With better health, we can expect him to be a massive boost for United’s top four push.

4. The Red Devils Desperately need to strengthen their defense. 

For the first 30 minutes of this game, Crystal Palace just sent the ball upfield through vertical lanes the few times they had it.

Bypassing as much of the midfield as possible, they directly attacked what looked to be at times a bit of a fragile united defensive lineup.

It did get better over time for United fans, but some lapses in concentration really could have cost if we were playing a big club such as Chelsea, City, Arsenal, or Liverpool. 

5. Manchester United will play better teams than Crystal Palace

We play Olympiacos, who is one of the most underrated teams in the Champions League, Man City and Liverpool in the next 5 games, along with a West Ham Hammers team who is in red hot form at the moment.

This is a tricky stretch of games that the Devils must emerge from positively to salvage the end of a dismal season. 

Regardless of your opinion of the game, a win is a much needed 3 points for this Red’s squad struggling to stay in the race for the top four.

That’s what we’ve learned from this game. What remains to be seen is whether Wayne Rooney is worth his new lucrative contract, and whether David Moyes can bring the trophy back to Old Trafford.

With the transfer rumor mill working overtime, Moyes MUST have a stellar transfer window in order to restore some fan confidence.

This game was just the start, but it was great result, pushing United to 6^th place in the league, also serving the squad as great preparation for the Champions League match with Olympiakos this Tuesday

We stand United.

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