Manchester United were again unbeatable in the third test of their preparation. Against Premier League rivals Crystal Palace, Martial, Sancho and Rashford made the difference
Following successful tests against Liverpool FC and Melbourne Victory, Erik ten Hag relied on personnel that had already proved their worth on the Red Devils’ pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia – new signings Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez were missing from the squad, as was Cristiano Ronaldo, who remains absent from the squad and is rumoured to be seeking a change of club. Instead, Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford and Martial started up front once again, with Maguire and Lindelöf forming the central defence.
Butland clears strongly and has to come off, substitute Matthews catches the 0:1
But even without the aforementioned players, the English record champions got off to a good start: Fred put the ball through to Martial at the perfect moment, who tested Butland from an acute angle (10.). It was not the Frenchman’s last strong action, but that of the English goalkeeper, who injured his finger during the save and had to be replaced by Matthews. A few minutes later, Martial was able to slot in for the lead. After a cross from new signing Malacia, who integrated well into the starting eleven, to Dalot, the Portuguese right-back chipped the ball over the opposition’s defensive chain, where Martial confidently picked the ball out of the air and from close range got the better of Matthews (18th).
Crystal Palace then took control of the game and created good chances through Ebiowei and Rak-Sakyi, which were thwarted by de Gea. Shortly before the break, Martial again found himself in front of Matthews after Rashford’s cross from the left had been sent sharply into the five-yard area. But it remained 1-0 at half-time as both the London goalkeeper and the French loanee missed narrowly.
Great combination to make it 2-0 – Martial rounds off strong performance
The Red Devils started the second half with van de Beek, who immediately thanked them for their efforts with an assist. However, Sancho and again the strong Martial played the main roles in Rashford’s goal. The latter took a ball out of the air and his opponents out of the situation, then he took the ex-Dortmund player with him, who set up his colleague with a pin pass. Instead of looking for his own finish, Martial dribbled to van de Beek, who picked up the free-standing Rashford at the far post. The Englishman made it 2-0 from close range (49th).
Martial put the finishing touch to his outstanding performance on the hour mark when he kept up the tempo on a counter-attack and picked up the onrushing Sancho. The Englishman could not be caught up and placed his shot unstoppable next to the right post (60th). Ten Hag then made several changes and brought on nine new players. The flow of the game diminished and Crystal Palace reduced the deficit. From a corner on the right, Ward got the better of substitute Telles and his header also beat de Gea (74). Despite the goal, the Londoners could not prevent their third win in the third game under Erik ten Hag’s management. Also because United youngster Will Fish stopped a counterattack with an emergency stop (red card, 84th) and thus prevented another goal.
