Reuters
London, April 21: An inspired Matteo Darmian scored his first goal for Manchester United and set up another as Louis van Gaal’s side kept alive their hopes of a top four finish with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace, Wednesday. In another game played in the night Liverpool defeated Everton 4-0 in their Merseyside derby.
Darmian unleashed a screaming volley with his weaker left foot early in the second half, after Palace defender Damien Delaney turned the Italy full-back’s sharp low cross into his own net in the fourth minute.
The result left United in fifth place, a point behind Arsenal who have a game in hand, and two adrift of Manchester City, as the battle for Champions League spots appears set to go down to the wire.
“I was very happy for Matteo, two times he was involved in the goals,” Van Gaal told ‘MUTV’. “I was very happy with the performance and I think it was a four or five to zero game. We should have finished it much earlier and scored much more goals.”
Playing in an adventurous formation with Wayne Rooney deployed in a deeper role behind the front four, United were denied a bigger win by a string of superb saves from visiting goalkeeper Julian Speroni.
Meanwhile, Liverpool maintained their stranglehold over Everton with a one-sided stroll against their local rivals who had Ramiro Funes Mori sent off for a horror-tackle in the second half.
Liverpool were never under any serious or sustained pressure and scored twice late in the first half through Divock Origi and Mamadou Sakho, both from James Milner crosses, before Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to make it 3-0 and Philippe Coutinho finished off the rout.