Pogba - Ibra 'combine swords', Man United defeat Crystal Palace

Man United had a tough time away at Crystal Palace. It was only thanks to timely brilliance from Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic that the Red Devils were able to take all 3 points away from Selhurst Park.

Paul Pogba opened the scoring.

Despite having to play away at Crystal Palace, Man United are still full of confidence, especially after their recent convincing victory over Tottenham. When Henrikh Mkhitaryan was absent due to injury, Juan Mata was trusted by coach Jose Mourinho. Captain Wayne Rooney started alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Red Devils' three-man midfield is still the familiar trio of Paul Pogba - Ander Herrera - Michael Carrick.

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Statistics in the first 45 minutes showed that Man United controlled the ball up to 65% and created a completely dominant game. On the other side, Crystal Palace retreated deep to defend and waited for counter-attack opportunities with fast players like Zaha and Christian Benteke. However, the solid and proactive play of the visitors prevented the home team from launching a single shot on target against David de Gea in the first half.

However, it must be admitted that Man United did not create many opportunities against Crystal Palace's defensive style of play. It was not until the 37th minute that they had a really good opportunity, but unfortunately Rooney could not take advantage of it. After many somewhat 'unexpected' shots, in the 45+2 minute, Paul Pogba's efforts were rewarded. From Mata's free kick,Ibrahimovic made a precise wall for Pogba to finish close to the goal, giving goalkeeper Hennessey no chance to save.

After the break, Crystal Palace attacked in search of an equalizer. In the 62nd minute, McArthur fired a powerful shot from afar that De Gea struggled to block. But in the 66th minute, in a beautiful coordination situation by the home team,De Gea could do nothing more than keep out McArthur's shot.

Ibrahimovic sealed a 2-1 victory for MU

With the equalizer, Crystal Palace took the initiative to retreat to defend. Meanwhile, Man United focused on attacking. However, the away team's central play lacked creativity, and their ability to attack the wings was almost harmless with Darmian, Lingard, and Blind in the corridor area. When the Red Devils fans were thinking about a draw on away ground, in the 88th minute, Pogba had a great dribble and then passed the ball intelligently for Ibra to escape, unleashing a classy shot to seal a 2-1 victory for the visitors.

In this round of 16 of the Premier League, except for Arsenal losing to Everton, other big teams such as Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Man City all won. Therefore, Man United's ranking on the rankings has not changed.

Line-up:

Man United:De Gea, Bailly, Jones, Rojo, Blind, Ander Herrera, Carrick, Pogba, Mata, Ibrahimovic, Rooney.

Crystal Palace:Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Delaney, Kelly, McArthur, Flamini, Lee, Cabaye, Zaha, Christian Benteke.

According to Bongda