Matic wonder strike seals comeback win for Manchester United against Palace

Mourinho’s substitutions the key to opening up the Palace

Despite conceding another goal straight after Mourinho made his first substitution, the impact Rashford had on the game was vital. It allowed Mourinho to bring on certain players later on in the match too.

Marcus Rashford has been chronically out of knick recently. And although he didn’t do anything too extraordinary against Palace to the eye, his role was crucially important.

United’s only width in the first half was provided eventually by Ashley Young after he’d caught up from left-back. But Rashford was able to drag Palace youngster Aaron Wan-Bissaka wide. As well as beating him one-on-one a couple of times, it created space for other United players to influence the game in the centre of the pitch.

Sanchez moved inside and his link up with Lukaku returned to the promise we had seen in recent weeks. Paul Pogba became more influential in the match. Despite playing in a two-man midfield, he kept things a lot simpler and was able to dictate the tempo.

The substitutions of Mata and Shaw further added fuel to United’s fire, enclosing Crystal Palace. Because Rashford made the pitch bigger by moving wide, Mata was able to pull it all together and link play in the centre.

Luke Shaw also gave United an extra dimension on the left side. Rashford could chop inside on his dangerous right foot. But you also the dynamic Shaw on the overlap.