After watching this I thought back on the game at West Ham last season where we capitulated and ended up missing 4th. Tonight showed a complete change in character since then, it reminded me of the hard-fought wins we were known for under SAF and haven't really felt since he left. We had a scrappy opponent in a small ground with a tough atmosphere and while Palace's equalizer might have caused heads to drop in the recent past, instead we pushed on and strung together a marvelous sequence that led to Ibra's goal.
This was far from a great performance by the team but I think nearly everyone made a good account of themselves. When the lineups came out, I expected us to create next to nothing with so little pace and no one to give us width. Still, we looked fairly good in possession and got a few chances that should've been finished off. Ibra was my MOTM, not just for the goal but since he was a continuous threat and never really faded out of the game like he has recently. Obvious second choice is Pogba, who keeps irking me with his sloppy passing but also impressing with his strength and obvious ability to pull off the brilliant.
Midfield I thought we were very good, Palace were very little threat to us in that area. Herrera might've been better off not attempting any shots tonight but he played a very efficient game and kept us moving. Carrick seems to be getting phased out in playing more of a sit-back role while Pogba roams and looks to play it forward but he is still very good at what he does. Rooney I thought had an average performance but should've had at least a goal.
Rojo and Jones continue to play well, aside from the fact that Rojo needs to cut it out with his brainless 2-footed tackles. He was very fortunate to not get sent off but was dependable outside of that. The real impression was Bailly, who was excellent in a makeshift role as RB. It is to his credit that he kept going after taking studs from Lee and he didn't hide, he took runs forward and made himself available in the buildup. How Lee wasn't booked, I'll never know.
...Oh, and did anyone mention that the officiating in general was shit?
A couple of other random thoughts. One, this needs to be Darmian's last game with the club. I've harped a lot on him the past couple of days but I see little doubt that he cannot improve if he stays in this league. He looks completely out of his element when under pressure and his 'defending' in the buildup to McArthur's goal was ludicrous. If Jose is so doubtful of him that he needs to play Bailly as a FB in order to deal with a runner, we should find a regular FB who can do that. I sure as hell don't want Bailly going down the same road as Smalling and being played out of position.
I also want to give a shout to Rojo and Blind for starting the move that led to Ibra's goal. It did not look like very much but it was very efficient passing that helped to get Pogba underway in playing through Palace's line. On my 10 scale, I'll give us a 7. Not a brilliant game but a great outcome and important confidence-booster.