Man Utd 3-1 Crystal Palace: Five things we learned as Anthony Martial steals show again | Football | Sport

After seeing a one-on-one saved by Palace keeper Jack Butland, Anthony Martial opened the scoring with a well-taken close-range volley. United doubled their lead shortly after half-time when Marcus Rashford tapped in to round off an easy-on-the-eye team goal.

Jadon Sancho raced onto a through-ball from Martial to make it 3-0 before the hour mark as Palace’s weakened nature began to become obvious. Patrick Vieira has just 10 senior players with him in Australia, with many first-team regulars remaining at home because they did not meet the entry requirements to travel Down Under. 

With the score at 3-0 in the 65th minute, Ten Hag made wholesale changes, bringing on Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Hannibal Mejbri, Alex Telles, Amad Diallo, Anthony Elanga, Ethan Laird, Charlie Savage, Zidane Iqbal and Will Fish. Palace got a goal back when Joel Ward headed through David de Gea from a near-post corner before Fish was sent off late on for pulling down Victor Akinwale as the last man.

Here’s what we learned from another comfortable pre-season win for Manchester United. 

Confident Martial

There was no booing of the man of the moment. Martial finished last season at a low ebb following an unsuccessful loan spell with Sevilla, but Ten Hag’s arrival, Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence and Edinson Cavani’s departure have given him a new lease of life.

The Frenchman netted his third goal in three pre-season games against Palace and the strike displayed his new-found confidence. Martial got himself onto the shoulder of Nathaniel Clyne, controlled Dalot’s ball well and drilled a finish in from close range.

His goals in pre-season have shown Martial’s ability to poach goals from close range. He can be a fox in the box and he could have scored two more in the first half, with Butland’s save one-on-one and an inswinging cross from Marcus Rashford going unconverted.

Full-backs involved

Martial’s goal owed a lot to the work of Tyrell Malacia and Diogo Dalot, who moved central to provide some crisp build-up. That was a real theme of the first half, with United’s full-backs not shy to move infield to find space.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw used to be established as the number one picks at full-back, but their spots are being contested in pre-season. Given his first start, Malacia was particularly bright, cutting inside to form a midfield three with Fred and Scott McTominay. His best moment came when he produced a lovely dummy to win a free-kick.

Fluid system

Ten Hag likes versatile players who are not scared of roaming from their positions to find space. His philosophy was summed up nicely by an interview United new boy Lisandro Martinez gave to Ole last season.

“It’s the idea. That of confusing the rival, of playing with the movements of others, is the most beautiful thing,” he said when asked about Ajax’s system. “For example, against Groningen, I gave an assist to our right-back who was standing as No9. We know that our players can change their position but always knowing that behind them they have the support of the whole team.”

That idea was in evidence in the MCG, where United’s team moved around at will to find space and move the Palace defence around. Bruno Fernandes was given a free role which saw him drift into wide positions; Rashford and Jadon Sancho swapped wings; McTominay and Fred poured forward at every opportunity; Dalot and Malacia moved infield.

Glimpse at Van de Beek’s future

Ten Hag made one change at the break, bringing Donny van de Beek on for McTominay. That put the Dutchman on the field with Fernandes, suggesting the two can play in the same team. The fact he came on at half-time, rather than as part of the raft of changes 20 minutes later, suggested Ten Hag was looking for evidence that one of his favourite Ajax players can contribute at his new club.

Van de Beek broke the lines well from his advanced No8 role in midfield and picked up an assist when he pulled the ball back nicely for Rashford to tap in. The substitution spree took the momentum out of United, but Van de Beek showed enough to offer confidence for the future under Ten Hag.