MAN UNITED 2, CRYSTAL PALACE 0
Manchester United’s kids proved their manager wrong as the Reds defeated Crystal Palace in their final Premier League game of the season.
Jose Mourinho, who referred to his young players as not being ready for the first team, saw them more than hold their own as he made wholesale changes to rest players for Wednesday’s final of the Europa League.
The Reds’ manager, who handed debut to three players and had eight involved in the matchday squad of 18, saw them flourish.
There was a debut goal from Josh Harrop, confident display from Demitri Mitchell at left back while Scott McTominay looked at ease in midfield.
And at end there was a debut for 16-year-old Angel Gomes, the youngest player to feature in the first team since Norman Whiteside.
But the game was followed by a press conference from Mourinho which was bizarre.
Mourinho attended while his players were still doing their lap of honour. And with only a couple of reporters in place he remained for all of 20 seconds before departing.
And he was almost as brief for United’s own television channel saying he had to leave to prepare for the final.
Mourinho stuck to his word by playing the kids from the start as there were first-team debuts for Mitchell, and Harrop while Scott McTominay and Joel Pereira had made only one senior appearance apiece.
In total, the Reds made eight changes from the side that played out a goalless draw at Southampton on Wednesday.
Eric Bailly, Alex Tuanzebe and Wayne Rooney were the three survivors from midweek as United fielded their youngest ever line up in the Premier League with an average age of 22 years and 284 days.
And there were four further youngsters on the bench, Matthew Willock, Kieran O’Hara, Zak Dearnley and Gomes, though it also featured Anthony Martial, Michael Carrick and Daley Blind.
There was still a core of senior players, though, with Bailly, Phil Jones, Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Wayne Rooney in the starting line up.
United came close to taking a 12th minute lead when young left-back Mitchell’s long through ball was latched on to by Rooney whose control was superb. He lobbed keeper Wayne Hennessey only for the ball to drop on to the roof of the net.
The Reds made their breakthrough after quarter of an hour when Harrop, a 21-year-old from Stockport, marked his debut with a superb solo goal.
Put away down the left by Pogba, Harrop cut inside Martin Kelly before firing high past Hennesey into the top far corner. He came the 100th different player to score a Premier League goal for the Reds.
And it was 2-0 inside 20 minutes after Pogba found the net. Lingard made a break from half way and threaded a pass to release the midfielder who slotted home a low shot from 12 yards. The game was effectively over at this early stage of the game.
Harrop was oozing confidence as he cut in from the left and almost curled in an audacious effort that only cleared the crossbar by inches.
United made their first changes just before half time when Pogba was replaced by Carrick.
And in stoppage time, Martial came on for Lingard, strange times to make changes.
Palace almost halved the deficit nine minutes after the restart when Christian Benteke headed against the upright from Wilfried Zaha’s left-wing cross.
Pereira made a decent save with 13 minutes remaining to keep out a free kick from Luka Milivojevic.
United made their third change with two minutes left when the diminutive Gomes made his entrance replacing Rooney and providing a glimpse into the future.