EPL 2016/17: Manchester United 2-0 Crystal Palace, 5 talking points
Manchester United warmed up for Europa League final in style as they brushed aside Crystal Palace on the final day of the season at Old Trafford. With a number of first-team players rested for the Stockholm showdown against Ajax on Wednesday, a youthful Manchester United took an early lead.
Debutant Josh Harrop skipped past challenges and curled one from the edge of the box past a diving Wayne Hennessey into the corner. The advantage was quickly doubled when Jesse Lingard hared into Palace half and laid the ball for Pogba, who slid his shot through the legs of Hennessey.
Crystal Palace – who guaranteed survival with a victory over relegated Hull City last week - barely threatened to produce a fightback. Manchester United will now go into Wednesday’s final with a winning mentality.
Here are the talking points from the game at Old Trafford:
#1 Josh Harrop and Demetri Mitchell stand out in a young United line-up
With United guaranteed to finish no higher or lower than 6th, Jose Mourinho named a youthful starting XI for the season’s curtain drawer at Old Trafford. Four players were given full debuts and only Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Wayne Rooney from the starting XI were not graduates or students of United’s academy.
However, some of United’s colts exceeded expectations on the biggest stage as they helped outplay Crystal Palace. Two of them in particular – left-winger Joshua Harrop and left-back Demetri Mitchell were outstanding on the flank, using their young and athletic legs to dominate Palace’s byline and give right-back Joel Ward a nightmare.
While Harrop showed that he is capable of striking the ball sweetly with an excellent goal, Mitchell ensured that Wilfried Zaha was unable to pose any sort of threat on the wing.
It was a display that suggests that the future is indeed bright for the pair.