Jose Mourinho is facing a midfield crisis ahead of Manchester United's Champions League tie in Moscow.
United face CSKA Moscow without Paul Pogba, Marouane Fellaini and skipper Michael Carrick, with Mourinho admitting his midfield has been stretched to the limit, with Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera his only remaining fit options there.
Fellaini was sidelined by a challenge from Southampton's Shane Long that went unpunished in United's 1-0 win, with Mourinho saying the midfielder was “lucky” not to be seriously injured.
“We don’t have Fellaini, we don't have Pogba and we don't have Carrick, all three midfield players we lose for this match, so there are not many solutions,” said Mourinho.
“For me, Craig Pawson is one of the big talents in refereeing in England. He had an amazing game in my opinion. He was calm and so much in control, he had a great performance.
“It was only after the game I watched it [the challenge on Fellaini] on televsion. No camera for Craig and he made that decision.
"Fellaini was lucky, because it could have been a much worse situation.
“In a moment where we don’t have Pogba and Carrick, Marouane becomes even more important than he always is, and not to be here is a difficult situation for us. But I don't expect Fellaini to be out for a long time.
"After Crystal Palace there is an international break and Belgium, having already qualified for the World Cup, he's not under pressure for a special big match for them, so hopefully he'll be back for us."
Mourinho was sent off in added time at Southampton for encroaching on to the pitch and said the FA's decision not to take further action was the right one.
“If I'm not punished, it's because there were no reasons for the sending-off,” said Mourinho. “I'm happy that was recognised and I can be doing my work normally against Crystal Palace. That's enough for me.”
United are unbeaten this season, but Mourinho told his players to stay grounded despite their fine start, warning they will not have it all their own way in the months ahead.
“We cannot guarantee this line of success, but the way to try to keep it going is to do what we're doing,” said Mourinho.
“We try to play well and in some moments of the match, if the opponents have moments of superiority we have to be humble, like we were against Southampton and to cope with the difficult moments.
“So I think it's a mixture of our quality and to try to be dominant, like we want to be always, but accepting the reality of high level football, that when the opponent has a strong moment,you have to cope with it.”