Manchester United Overcome Injuries vs. Palace to Close in on Champions League

It was not pretty, and yet, given that Manchester United took a huge stride towards securing a Champions League place by defeating Crystal Palace, for United fans, it was a thing of beauty.

Marouane Fellaini's headed winner came after a period of sustained Palace pressure following their equaliser. United had dominated the first half and certainly deserved to be ahead, albeit they had taken just seven shots on goal, two of which were from range and one of which was from the penalty spot.

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Palace, though, had been restricted to just two shots in the half.

United, unable to call upon the services of Angel Di Maria, Michael Carrick, Marcos Rojo or Robin van Persie, were dealt a further blow on 39 minutes, when Luke Shaw succumbed to injury and was replaced by Jonny Evans.

Evans went to centre-back, with Phil Jones asked to deputise at left-back. United found it understandably difficult to retain their rhythm after this. The disruption affected the Red Devils in defence and in terms of the balance of the side in possession. Jones is not a natural left-back, and his link-up play with Young and Fellaini was not particularly effective.

Evans did well, considering his lack of first-team football recently, but there was an uncertainty to the back four from that point on.

Things got theoretically worse at half-time, when Wayne Rooney was replaced by Radamel Falcao. In truth, Falcao performed his centre-forward duties at least as well as Rooney had—he set up two chances to Rooney's one and gave the ball away just once compared to Rooney's three times.

However, it was yet another change in a side whose rhythm had already been compromised. The net effect of the substitutions and positional changes, combined with growing confidence in the Palace ranks, meant that the Selhurst Park faithful had plenty to sink their teeth into.

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It was little surprise when Palace scored, and at that point all the momentum in the match seemed with them. Given United's recent poor run of form, it was hard to imagine the Red Devils overcoming the adversity they faced.

David de Gea's remarkable fingertip save from Glenn Murray felt like a turning point. From then on, United displayed a resilience that allowed them to overcome their injury-hit uncertainty. Man of the match Ashley Young's long, looping cross and Fellaini's movement combined to confuse Palace's defence.

That resilience was absolutely crucial. After defeat to Everton, Van Gaal said his team lacked motivation, per SNTV (h/t the Guardian). He could not say the same here. There was, on occasion, a concerning lack of quality on show, but there was plenty of motivation as United conjured up some much-needed will to win.

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Given how much is at stake in the final few games of this season, with the enormous prize of Champions League football on the horizon, Van Gaal will be delighted that his team battled to victory.

That resilience has been something of a feature of this season.

Late goals have earned United valuable points, from draws against West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United away to the draw with Chelsea at home and Young's late winner against Newcastle at St James' Park. This was not a last-minute goal, but it was a goal scored in the face of adversity.

This United side is clearly not the finished product, but the determination to rescue results is a key differentiation between this season and last.

Juan Mata kept his nerve to score from the spot. Paddy McNair kept his after coming on as a late substitute for the injured Chris Smalling. De Gea kept his to pull off a couple of crucial saves. Falcao, much maligned over the season, kept his in order to set up Ander Herrera late in the game. 

Young, according to Manchester Evening News writer Samuel Luckhurst's tweet, played with an injured ankle. Throughout the side, United displayed important mental strength in this game.

It is a quality that will serve Van Gaal well as he looks to build a team that can challenge at the highest level.

All advanced statistics per Squawka.com.