Manchester United roll on as Romelu Lukaku seizes chance at Crystal Palace
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had sounded the call to arms. Manchester United were in the midst of an injury crisis and it was incumbent on a big player to step up from the fringes to save them. The caretaker manager named names, too. He wanted to see Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sánchez play to their potential.
It was Lukaku who delivered. The striker blew a glorious chance in the eighth minute but he did not go into his shell, far from it. He put United in control with two excellent finishes, one with either foot – the first from the edge of the penalty area – and, although Crystal Palace fought back to score through Joel Ward, it was Lukaku who helped to ensure that his team had the final word.
Lukaku combined with Paul Pogba before the latter played in Ashley Young and the United captain angled home a powerful drive. Palace had fought from the first whistle but, at last, they were deflated. Down on the touchline Solskjaer pumped his fists in a familiar show of contentedness.
And so it goes on. Solskjaer remains unbeaten in the Premier League since he stepped in to replace José Mourinho in mid-December – he has won nine and drawn two of 11 matches – and it now feels as though it is a question of when rather than if he is confirmed by the club as the next permanent manager.
United want a leader to instil a fast and exciting style, to reacquaint the fans with a sense of enjoyment. They want somebody who understands the club’s traditions. And they would not mind if results came along, as well. Quite simply Solskjaer has come to tick every box.
Palace have never beaten United in the Premier League and they have now tried and failed on 20 occasions. This was a 16th defeat. They battled hard from the start, rattling United at times in the first half and, when Ward dived to head home, the grandstand finale was on.
The home crowd bellowed their encouragement and there were flickers from their team. The substitute Max Meyer forced David de Gea into a save and Andros Townsend saw a shot charged down. But United held firm – their work rate and organisation were praised by Roy Hodgson – and after Young’s goal, there was even time for Solskjaer to introduce the 17-year-old central midfielder James Garner for his debut.
“We’ve got great faith in James as the next Michael Carrick,” Solskjaer said. “I know it’s not fair on kids to compare them to great players like Michael was but he’s in the same mould. I know it’s pressure but you’re at Man United. Michael had the pressure of coming in after Roy Keane, so that’s just the way it is at Man United.”
Solskjaer radiated confidence even though he was without eight senior players because of injury. Marcus Rashford, who had been a doubt with an ankle problem, was fit enough to make a 77th-minute appearance off the bench. Solskjaer could include only Pogba from his first-choice front six and he improvised by starting the fullback Diogo Dalot on the right wing, which worked well. Dalot had previously played there for Porto.
All eyes were on Lukaku and Sánchez, not to mention the midfielder Fred, who made his first appearance since early January. Sánchez was a disappointment, unable to create anything and going to ground a little too easily, while Fred’s evening was a mixed bag.
In the absence of Rashford, Solskjaer started Lukaku through the middle and he responded with his first goals in 10 appearances, although he had to taste a low before the highs. In the 10th minute he found himself all alone and centrally placed, eight yards out, from the excellent Luke Shaw’s corner – only to sky the volley.
Lukaku’s opening goal came from a much more difficult opportunity, following a burst from Shaw. The Belgian took a touch to set himself before curling a low right-foot shot into the far corner from just inside the area.
Townsend had blown a clearcut 11th-minute chance from James McArthur’s cross and had fizzed a low drive past the post. Immediately after Lukaku’s breakthrough Jeffrey Schlupp stretched to meet a Townsend cross but could not direct his header on target.
Hodgson described Lukaku’s second as a “cold shower” for his team and it came after Pogba had headed offtarget when well placed. United won two headers inside the area following Young’s corner, firstly through Chris Smalling and then Victor Lindelöf, and Lukaku hooked the bouncing ball into the far corner.
Ward’s goal from Schlupp’s cross was his first of the season. But United had too much.