Manchester United 2-0 Crystal Palace
- From the section Football
Manchester United moved one point behind fourth-placed Arsenal with four Premier League games remaining with a comfortable win over Crystal Palace.
Damien Delaney set United on their way when he inadvertently turned Matteo Darmian's cross into his own net.
Julian Speroni kept Palace in the game with a series of fine saves to deny Anthony Martial and Juan Mata before Darmian doubled the lead.
The defender chested the ball down before lashing home from 20 yards.
It was Darmian's first goal for United and sealed a highly satisfactory win for Louis van Gaal's side on a night thousands of United fans decided to stay away.
There were plenty of empty seats and, despite victory, the atmosphere was flat.
Relive the action from Old Trafford
Reaction from Old Trafford and Wednesday's other Premier League games
More to follow.
Line-ups
Man Utd
- 1de Gea
- 25A Valencia
- 12Smalling
- 17Blind
- 36DarmianBooked at 62mins
- 28Schneiderlin
- 35LingardSubstituted forHerreraat 73'minutes
- 8Mata
- 10RooneySubstituted forFellainiat 78'minutes
- 9Martial
- 39RashfordSubstituted forDepayat 64'minutes
Substitutes
- 5Rojo
- 7Depay
- 18Young
- 20Romero
- 21Herrera
- 27Fellaini
- 51Fosu-Mensah
Crystal Palace
- 1Speroni
- 34KellyBooked at 6mins
- 3Mariappa
- 27Delaney
- 23SouaréBooked at 43mins
- 7CabayeSubstituted forMcArthurat 66'minutes
- 15Jedinak
- 11Zaha
- 14Lee Chung-yongSubstituted forMutchat 60'minutes
- 26Sako
- 25AdebayorSubstituted forWickhamat 75'minutes
Substitutes
- 9Campbell
- 12McCarthy
- 18McArthur
- 21Wickham
- 22Mutch
- 36Dreher
- 42Puncheon
- Referee:
- Lee Mason
Match Stats
Home TeamMan UtdAway TeamCrystal Palace
- Possession
- Home66%
- Away34%
- Shots
- Home16
- Away5
- Shots on Target
- Home10
- Away0
- Corners
- Home10
- Away2
- Fouls
- Home13
- Away7
Live Text
Full Time
Second Half ends, Manchester United 2, Crystal Palace 0.
Foul by Matteo Darmian (Manchester United).
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Matteo Darmian (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Foul by Jordon Mutch (Crystal Palace).
Attempt missed. Matteo Darmian (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Memphis Depay following a corner.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Martin Kelly.
Attempt blocked. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Wilfried Zaha.
Attempt blocked. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Connor Wickham.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Adrian Mariappa.
Attempt blocked. Memphis Depay (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Juan Mata (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace).
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Marouane Fellaini replaces Wayne Rooney.
Dangerous play by Daley Blind (Manchester United).
Adrian Mariappa (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by James McArthur.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Connor Wickham replaces Emmanuel Adebayor.
Antonio Valencia (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace).
Foul by Anthony Martial (Manchester United).
Adrian Mariappa (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Ander Herrera replaces Jesse Lingard.
Attempt missed. Chris Smalling (Manchester United) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Matteo Darmian with a cross following a corner.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Adrian Mariappa.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. James McArthur replaces Yohan Cabaye.
Foul by Memphis Depay (Manchester United).
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Offside, Manchester United. Jesse Lingard tries a through ball, but Antonio Valencia is caught offside.
Substitution
Substitution, Manchester United. Memphis Depay replaces Marcus Rashford.
Attempt blocked. Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Booking
Matteo Darmian (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Matteo Darmian (Manchester United).
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt saved. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt saved. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marcus Rashford.
Substitution
Substitution, Crystal Palace. Jordon Mutch replaces Lee Chung-yong.
Attempt missed. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right.
Goal!
Goal! Manchester United 2, Crystal Palace 0. Matteo Darmian (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box to the bottom left corner following a corner.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Damien Delaney.
Attempt saved. Juan Mata (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top left corner.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Martin Kelly.
Foul by Matteo Darmian (Manchester United).
Bakary Sako (Crystal Palace) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Pape Souaré.
Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Anthony Martial.
Second Half
Second Half begins Manchester United 1, Crystal Palace 0.
Half Time
First Half ends, Manchester United 1, Crystal Palace 0.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Jesse Lingard.
Offside, Manchester United. Matteo Darmian tries a through ball, but Juan Mata is caught offside.
Booking
Pape Souaré (Crystal Palace) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Juan Mata (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Pape Souaré (Crystal Palace).
Attempt blocked. Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
Corner, Crystal Palace. Conceded by Chris Smalling.
Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Julian Speroni.
Attempt saved. Anthony Martial (Manchester United) left footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal.
Offside, Crystal Palace. Damien Delaney tries a through ball, but Emmanuel Adebayor is caught offside.
Attempt saved. Jesse Lingard (Manchester United) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Juan Mata.