Manchester United hammered the struggling Crystal Palace 4-0 at Old Trafford to remain at the top of the Premier League, according to the Guardian. José Mourinho's side put in a dominant performance, using goals from Juan Mata (3'), Marouane Fellaini (35', 49'') and Romelu Lukaku (86') to beat an “impotent” Crystal Palace team. Roy Hodgson's side was handed their seventh defeat of the season. So far, Palace are yet to score a goal this term. Manchester United remain joint-leaders with neighbors Manchester City, while Crystal Palace are at the bottom with no point.
Here's an analysis of this match.
Manchester United outlook
Starting XI and individual performance points: Goalkeeper - David de Gea (6.58). Defender - Antonio Valencia (7.80), Phil Jones (7.42), Chris Smalling (7.54), Ashley Young (8.08). Midfielder - Marouane Fellaini (9.23), Nemanja Matic (7.15), Juan Mata (7.84), Henrikh Mkhitaryan (6.87), Marcus Rashford (8.70). Forward - Romelu Lukaku (8.10). Used substitutes - Anthony Martial (6.92), Ander Herrera (6.49), Jesse Lingard (6.40).
Team's strength and weakness: Manchester United was effective at setting up goal bound chances from flanks and set pieces. In addition, they were good at finishing.
Style of play: Manchester United had no specific style of play throughout the encounter.
Crystal Palace outlook
Starting XI and individual performance points: Goalkeeper - Wayne Hennessey (6.36). Defender - Joel Ward (six points), Mamadou Sakho (5.90), Damien Delaney (6.72), Patrick van Aanholt (4.77). Midfielder - Yohan Cabaye (5.48), Luka Milivojevic (6.20), Andros Townsend (6.61), Jason Puncheon (5.88), Jeffrey Schlupp (five points).
Forward - Bakary Sako (six points). Used substitutes - Jairo Riedewald (six points), Freddie Ladapo (5.80), James McArthur (5.94).
Team's strength and weakness: the Eagles showed no significant strengths and weaknesses throughout the match.
Style of play: Palace often lost possession to United and committed several individual stumbles.
Who is the Man of the Match?
Marouane Fellaini showed once more that he is capable of taking on a defensive role with the absence of Paul Pogba. The Belgium international scored twice and had 75 touches. Fellaini scored a total of four goals in eight appearances this season.
Both teams' Week 8 fixtures
Manchester United will hope to continue their fine run when they face Liverpool on Saturday 14 October, while fumbling Crystal Palace takes on Chelsea. Funny enough, will Palace be able to survive Chelsea's dreadful attackers? Well, let's see how it goes.
