Quickfire Takeaways: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United

There were shades of the old Manchester United showing through last night at Selhurst Park, as José Mourinho’s Reds scored a late winner to beat Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace.

Paul Pogba had opened the scoring for United with the last kick of the first half, although the goal was certainly contentious, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic having handled in the build-up and Pogba standing offside.

However, United were made to pay for sitting off once again at the start of the second half, with James McArthur finishing a flowing Palace attack. It seemed that the Reds would once again drop points, until Ibrahimovic came up with the winner with a minute left, sidefooting home after being played through by Pogba.

Here are some quickfire takeaways:

Craig Pawson and his assistants – Unfortunately, the United win was soured by a demonstration of poor Premier League refereeing from Craig Pawson and his team, who conspired to make some atrocious decisions for both sides. The list includes:

• Marcos Rojo getting away with a two-footed tackle on Wilfried Zaha (although the Argentine barely made contact)
• Ibrahimovic handballing into the path of Pogba (who was offside) for United’s first
• Joe Ledley practically elbowing the ball away from Rojo’s head in the penalty box from a corner
• Juan Mata’s disallowed goal from a set-piece (Mata was miles onside as Rojo flicked the ball on into his path)

These decisions vastly affected the outcome of the game and questions have to be asked of the refereeing standards of the league. It’s not the first time that United have received a poor referee in their games this season and the Reds are lucky that they closed out the game, otherwise, they would have had every right to be aggrieved at Pawson’s officiating.

Paul Pogba – The Frenchman has started to prove his value in the last few weeks after a slow start and the stats are now reflecting his performances. He was man of the match on Wednesday night, tapping home the first before turning provider in the closing moments, delivering a wonderful through ball into the path of Ibrahimovic for the winner. His passing was wayward at times, but some of the balls he played through or over the top for his attackers were delightful. With this latest performance, Pogba’s second coming at United is picking up momentum. His chance creation is starting to produce results, and his numbers are starting to reflect his importance and contribution to the Reds.