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| Alan Pardew revealed by stopping Anthony Martial, Crystal palace stopped Man Utd |
ALAN PARDEW summed up the problems facing Louis van Gaal when he revealed Crystal Palace's game plan for this match.
The Crystal Palace manager believed that if his team could stop Anthony Martial, they would stop Manchester United.
Pardew was proved correct - and United manager Van Gaal was left with the dilemma of how to kick-start his stalled side ahead of tomorrow's crucial Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow.
As much as Palace's plan highlighted the qualities of the 19-year-old, it confirmed Wayne Rooney is seen as a supporting act by rival managers.
And that raises the question of whether Martial's talents are underused on the left while Rooney is left to fend for himself up front.
Pardew said: "We didn't give Martial an inch today. An inch. It was a big target for us to stop him and we felt if we could stop him, we could stop their creative angle.
"And when you take into account his age, that's some recommendation, by the way.
"I have to say he is an impressive young player. I think he handled himself very well today because he would have felt our presence around him and still he had moments in the game .
"The Man United manager will have to be very, very careful I think to keep his exuberance there because we were looking to stop him today, I make no bones about that."
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| Wayne Rooney failed to impress yet again for Man Utd |
Pardew had sympathy for Rooney, who was forced to feed on scraps up front as United turned in a display that only reinforced the critical assessment delivered last week.
The change in style is apparent - particularly to Palace midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who faced United for the first time since returning from an 18-month stint with Paris Saint Germain.
The France international said: "It is different playing against them. I remember I played against them for Newcastle and they could score at every moment in a game.
"Here they did not have the big chances to score. Rooney had a free kick in the first half and that was about it.
"Yes they are a big club and yes they can keep the ball. Passes, passes, passes.
"But if you work hard against them and stay in a good shape they can't do anything to pass through you or be adventurous."
Van Gaal made it clear his side must end their barren spell against CSKA at Old Trafford.
Failure to beat the Russian side will ramp up the pressure on the remaining two group games and midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin admitted the turnaround must come soon.
He said: "It will come if we keep believing. We will keep clean sheets, that's not a problem, and we will win games but we need to make sure it comes quickly."
Palace had their own problems in front of goal with Cabaye missing the best of a succession of chances that should have given Pardew's side victory.
None of Palace's main strikers have managed to score in the Premier League yet.
And the manager said: "It is something that worries me, of course it does, because you want your number nine to be off and flying. And we haven't got a goal from a number nine yet. So that is a negative to come out of the season for us.
"But we have Connor Wickham knocking on the door now and we have Marouane Chamakh to come back. And actually Chamakh's creative ability we have really missed, so to have 16 points at this stage without him I think is a real bonus for us.
"We are playing teams bang in form and I think with Chamakh to return and Connor to return, with those options I think it won't be long before we start seeing our strikers score."
CRYSTAL PALACE (4-2-3-1): Hennessey 6; Kelly 6, Dann 7, Delaney 7, Ward 7; McArthur 7, Cabaye 9 (Jedinak 79); Zaha 8, Puncheon 7, Bolasie 7; Gayle 6. Booked: Kelly, Cabaye, Gayle. NEXT UP: Liverpool (a), Sun PL.
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea 8; Darmian 4 (Young 66,6), Smalling 7, Blind 6, Rojo 6; Schneiderlin 7, Schweinsteiger 6 (Fellaini 68,6); Mata 6 (Lingard 78), Hererra 5, Martial 7; Rooney 5. Booked: Rojo, Smalling, Darmian. NEXT UP: CSKA Moscow (h), Tom CL.
Referee: M Jones (Chester).
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