Man Utd made easy work of Crystal Palace this afternoon (Picture: Getty)

Manchester United strolled to another free-scoring victory against Crystal Palace today, with Marouane Fellaini a surprise source of goals at Old Trafford.

The Belgian scored twice for the Red Devils in a 4-0 win, following Juan Mata’s opener after just three minutes.

Romelu Lukaku then found time to maintain his superb scoring run by adding a fourth late to consign Palace to seven defeats from their first seven Premier League games.

Star man – Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford was United’s biggest threat throughout (Picture: Getty)

He may not have got on the score sheet this afternoon, but Marcus Rashford was everywhere for United, particularly in the first half.

Initially a striker, the 19-year-old is showing he’ll have no trouble as a top class winger for Jose Mourinho’s side, helping himself to two assists today as he terrorised Palace on that left-hand side.

With sevn dribbles and four chances created, Rashford was at the heart of all of United’s best moves, with his skill and pace meaning the visitors just could not live with him.

No wonder he seems to be the only young player to gain regular playing time under the notoriously cautious Mourinho.

Failed to impress – Joel Ward

Rashford’s victim throughout the game, there’s no doubt Joel Ward could have done better, especially on United’s first goal.

Joel Ward couldn’t cope with Rashford (Picture: Getty)

With Rashford fooling him all too easily out on Palace’s right-hand side, Ward slipped up and allowed the United starlet a free run into the penalty area, where he was able to set up Mata for the opener inside three minutes.

As good as Rashford was, there’s no doubt United seemed to target Ward on that side of the pitch, though in fairness he got little support from his team-mates.

The worst of a bad bunch in this doomed-looking Eagles side.

Manchester United 2018/19 Fixtures

Fulham (A) - Feb 9
PSG (H) - Feb 12
Chelsea (A) - Feb 18
Liverpool (H) - Feb 24
Crystal Palace (A) - Feb 27
Southampton (H) - Mar 2

What surprised us – Anthony Martial on the bench

After a man-of-the-match display against CSKA Moscow in midweek, it was very surprising indeed to see Anthony Martial start this match on the bench.

Anthony Martial was harshly benched for this game (Picture: Getty)

Many have suggested Mourinho needs to limit the Frenchman’s playing time to keep him hungry, but there is surely also not a great deal more the Frenchman can do to justify a starting spot – particularly as he almost instantly notched up an assist after coming on.

One of the most exciting young talents in the world, the 21-year-old may not stick around for much longer if he isn’t rewarded for the strong performances that he does put in.

Inter Milan were interested in him in the summer, and Martial’s stock will only have risen after his start to this season. Time for Mourinho to stop the mind games and give him the role he deserves?

What didn’t surprise us – Another tame Palace performance

Roy Hodgson has an impossible job on his hands (Picture: Getty)

From start to finish, Palace looked like a side without any hope of Premier League survival.

Worryingly for Roy Hodgson, there seems to have been little improvement in their displays since his arrival, with United taking just three minutes to score and looking comfortable from that point on.

In fairness, against a side of the quality of this United team this season, Palace’s revival was perhaps never likely to start today.

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