Manchester United substitute Juan Mata ends Crystal Palace resistance
Juan Mata puts Manchester United in front against Crystal Palace.
This first win in more than a month for Manchester United was a disjointed affair. Louis van Gaal’s men are not dominating teams in a manner that should be expected for the £150m-plus summer outlay. While the mood is better around the club this United side is hardly an upgrade on last season’s David Moyes vintage.
They hoarded possession so the result was about right – the match-winner, Juan Mata, came close to a second when hitting a Palace post late on – yet with Arsenal visiting after the international break, there is more pondering to be done by the manager.
A United XI showing two changes from Sunday’s derby defeat began brightly. Ángel Di María smashed a free-kick against the wall then later delivered a corner from which the ensuing play won another delivery from the same right quadrant.
Corners proved a potent threat for United throughout this opening period. Yet another from Di María broke to Robin van Persie and his drilled shot-cross nearly found Maroaune Fellaini lurking near the goal-line before Palace cleared.
Marcos Rojo’s dislocated shoulder and the suspension of Chris Smalling meant yet another shuffling of Van Gaal’s defensive pack. This time he moved Daley Blind to centre-back and recalled Paddy McNair to play alongside him to maintain the manager’s stated preference for a left-right foot combination at the heart of his defence.
That this was an 11th combination at centre-back of Van Gaal’s tenure was a telling illustration of the problems that have plagued him in this area. The uncertainty this is bound to bring to the team showed at times.
Towards the end of the half there were two scares. One of these featured Yannick Bolasie sprinting along United’s right and curving in a ball that hit Luke Shaw with Fraizer Campbell, a former United player, closing in.
The other moment of danger occurred just before. Palace launched a long ball at McNair who, wrongly, allowed it to bounce – he may have thought the nearby Blind would clear – and Campbell had a clear chance in front of David De Gea. But the No10’s attempted lob was too high.
Shaw has endured a stuttering start to his United career since joining in the summer but he provide the period’s finest moment. He picked up possession in a deep position and surged straight downfield, scattering a backpedalling and panicky Palace and, when the shot came, only a fine Julian Speroni save denied Shaw a classic Roy of the Rovers goal.
United were sharp whenever moving forward. Van Persie secured the ball and passed to Adnan Januzaj and after moving forward the teenager whacked an effort at Speroni that though wide of the goalkeeper acted as a warning.
Good work from Di María down the left set up a quiet Wayne Rooney in a central area but when trying to finish the captain misfired.
There was also the sight of the 20-times champions pin-balling possession around impressively as the break neared. In keeping the ball to themselves here was a sequence of play that was perhaps their best in terms of shape and fluidity under Van Gaal. Yet as the teams wandered off for half-time the end product was still missing.
The manager might have told his side to continue, believing that the breakthrough would come.
At the second half’s start a Di María free-kick from the left found Van Persie who played in Fellaini. Again the ball would not quite fall right and the Belgian’s snapshot was blocked. Next up to try to break the deadlock for United was Rooney. McNair rushed forward with the ball and squeezed a pass to him. But, as in the first half, Rooney’s radar proved off.
Before the game Van Gaal said: “We know there are no easy games in the Premier League and we know Palace will be fighting hard to get a result today. They are an organised team who play a lot of long balls and work hard on set pieces. We know that and we will be ready for them.”
The problem was so were Palace in those moments when they could pin United back. Adrian Mariappa posed one such question when scooping a cross into the area that needed De Gea’s long reach to pluck from the air.
As the hour passed the contest remained scoreless though United were unlucky when Fellaini’s header was cleared from the Palace line by James McArthur.
Now, Van Gaal made his move, as off came Januzaj for Mata. After slick interplay between the Spaniard and Fellaini and Di María, Mata beat Speroni with a 20-yarder that, though taking a deflection, the keeper should have saved.
