Man Utd win amid injury storm

Goals: Ward 66' - Lukaku 33', 52', Young 83'

Not many people remember the last time Ashley Young was deployed as a Man Utd striker, as he had long been a default defender. However, with eight first-team players sidelined by injuries, the veteran Englishman was returned to his original position as a left winger. The change paid off when Young scored the winner for Man Utd late in the game.

The win at Crystal Palace kept Man Utd in fifth place with 55 points, just one point behind Arsenal in the top spot. They also maintained their unbeaten record under Solskjaer in the Premier League with 10 wins and one draw.

Man Utd went into the match at Crystal Palace with a long injury list that included Ander Herrera, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia. In the difficult situation of the force, coach Solskjaer decided to leave his favorite striker Marcus Rashford on the bench and use Lukaku in the top position. The Belgian striker responded with a great performance, scoring a goal in each half.

Lukaku opened the scoring for Man Utd with a right-footed curler that left goalkeeper Vicente Guaita unable to react. Lukaku's weak-footed finish came after Luke Shaw broke through from the left into the box. In the second half, Lukaku continued his heroic strike by kicking the ball over Guaita's head from a tight angle in a corner kick.

Crystal Palace refused to give up after falling two goals behind. The home side made things interesting in the final minutes, levelling with Joel Ward's header after Jeffrey Schlupp's cross. However, Palace were denied a point as Ashley Young sealed the 3-1 lead with a powerful cross from the corner.

In the match against Palace, coach Solskjaer also used Fred and Scott McTominay. Of which, the expensive contract Fred appeared in the starting lineup since the beginning of January. The Brazilian star had a lack of feeling in the first minutes due to sitting on the bench for too long and losing the ball many times. But Fred played better and better, through the accurate passing index of up to 84.5%, only behind center-back Victor Lindelof in this match.

Man Utd's biggest worry is that Alexis Sanchez continues to disappoint. The Chilean striker started alongside Lukaku but failed to impress on the right wing. The off-beat Sanchez will have to improve his form if he does not want to be benched when Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial return.