Norwich 0 United 1

United went into this game without Rashford or Martial and the uninspiring fare on offer illustrated just how valuable they've proved during our recent upturn in form.  Fortunately, we ran into a Norwich side who were even worse and, largely thanks to an appalling piece of defending, left Carrow Road with what could still prove a vital three points.

Robbed of the pace of Rashford and Martial, United looked as dull as they have for so much of the season.  Against a nervous looking Norwich, the lack of adventure was all too apparent.  De Gea saved to deny Jerome early on when the forward probably ought to have done better, but Norwich offered little else in a dire first half.  

Sadly, the Reds offered nothing better.  We dominated possession, of course, but the build-up play was slow and laborious.  Smalling's header over the bar from a corner was the closest United came and there was a disappointing new addition to the continuing saga of our defensive injuries when Darmian was forced off with what looked a nasty foot injury.

United opened the second half with a little more urgency and Herrera almost capitalised when his volley from Mata's pass went narrowly wide.  If this signified a more adventurous approach from the Reds in the second half, then the improvement turned out to be only marginal.

It took a horrendous defensive error from the home side to bring about the crucial goal.  Bassong's missed header allowed Rooney a run on goal and then, just as it looked like the chance had been squandered, the United captain produced a pass to set up the advancing Mata, who drilled home from close range.  

If the move emphasised that Rooney's future is probably as a creator rather than a scorer of goals, the sublime pass he then laid on for Schneiderlin offered further evidence.  Sadly, the Frenchman's future certainly isn't as a forward and he illustrated this by steering his shot tamely wide.

Although Norwich played most of the second half with a second striker, they offered little more than speculative yahoos into the box that were easily dealt with, more often than not by the typically efficient Chris Smalling and United were allowed to stroll to a comfortable win.

The three points keep us in the chase for a Champions League spot, but there will be many among the Reds support scratching their heads about how on earth we allowed these opponents to win at Old Trafford earlier in the season.  Had we not, the road to European qualification would surely have been a hell of a lot smoother and not involve reliance on a notoriously unreliable Arsenal at city or a that tricky midweek trip to the Boleyn Ground.

Under 21s: Chelsea 0 United 1

United's Under 21s finished the league season in the best possible way with a hard-fought but deserved victory at Stamford Bridge, which came courtesy of a goal from Matty Willock.  With the league title already won, this was effectively a meaningless game but the Reds approached it as if it were a title decider, showing a determination and will to win that speaks volumes for this group of players.

Willock almost broke the deadlock when his mazy run into the area ended with his shot being smothered by Collins in the Chelsea goal.   However, when a second chance fell to the midfielder, he made no mistake.  He started the move himself, moving the ball out to El Fitouri on the left.  His clever ball inside allowed Pereira to move the ball back to Willock, who steered his shot inside the far post.

Pereira ought to have made it two just before half-time, but he spooned his shot over the bar with only the keeper to beat.  At the other end there were some timely interventions from Phil Jones - a seemingly permanent member of the Under 21 team this days - but United were good value for their half-time lead.  

There was an old-fashioned 21-man brawl at the start of the second half, following an extraordinarily reckless tackle by Chelsea's Palmer, whose attempted challenge on El Fitouri was so wild he actually took out team mate Aina instead.  When the dust had settled, Palmer bizarrely walked away unpunished, with Josh Harrop and keeper Collins - who'd run forty yards to join the punch-up - both yellow carded for their involvement.

From there the game settled into a more sedate affair.  Mitchell had come on as a substitute for Januzaj at half-time and carried United's greatest threat.  First he then Harrop brought saves from Collins.  Chelsea began to dominate possession late in the half but the United defence rarely looked troubled and the Reds saw out the game comfortably.

United 1 Leicester 1

Everyone outside United and Spurs, of course, were looking to Leicester to seal the title today.  The Reds needed a win too though, for the rather less romantic but highly important prospect of a top four finish.  In the end, a draw meant that Leicester left Old Trafford without the championship but they'll have been the happier of the two sides, edging closer to their target while United rely on others to keep alive their rather more meagre prospects.

United began a frantic first half in the best possible way, taking the game to Leicester and grabbing a deserved lead in the eighth minute when Valencia's cross from the right found Martial at the far post, who comfortably tucked home. The Reds might well have had a second when Lingard's shot through a congested penalty area was well saved by Schmeichel.

Leicester came back, however, and captain Wes Morgan typified the spirit he's shown throughout this campaign when he got his head to former United reserve Drinkwater's free kick to draw his side level.  

In an eventful first half, both sides will feel they were on the wrong end of the kind of borderline decisions that have littered Leicester's run-in.  Lingard was through with only the keeper to beat when he was jostled by another ex-Red Danny Simpson.  

If Simpson probably did enough to make it a difficult decision for referee Oliver, the later clumsy challenge from Rojo on Mahrez in the area appeared, frankly, to be a clear-cut foul but the referee again waved play on.  There was also a case for both Fellaini and Huth being penalised following an aggressive tussle in the area: the big Belgian's stray elbow into the German's chin would presumably have received the greater punishment and will almost certainly be followed up with action by the FA.

With Spurs facing a difficult trip to Chelsea tomorrow and with a home game to come next weekend, most would have forgiven Leicester had they simply aimed to hold on to a point in the second half.  This spirit and endeavour of this team, however, meant they took the game to United with increased ambition, the romance of securing the title at Old Trafford clearly winning out over old-fashioned pragmatism.  Which is exactly how it should be.

With Kante now bossing central midfield, they looked the more likely to take the lead in the period after half-time.  Okazaki was close to getting on the end of Simpson's cross across the area and Mahrez struck a shot from outside the box too close to De Gea.

As the champions-elect began to tire and the game became increasingly spread, United began again to look the more likely winners.  Smalling narrowly failed to score with a header from Rooney's cross and, when substitute Memphis was brought down by Drinkwater on the edge of the area, it looked a clear penalty.  Instead, Oliver gave Drinkwater a second yellow but judged the offence to have occurred on the edge of the box.

Only at that point did the visitors settle for a point.  A brilliant intervention from Schmeichel prevented Memphis from getting on the end of a back pass as United pressed.  In the end an eventful game finished even, edging Leicester closer to their remarkable title while United fans will surely wonder what might have been had their team showed this kind of will to win against lesser opposition this season.

  

Under 21s: Southampton 2 United 1

United's youngsters have often found trips to Southampton difficult to negotiate in recent years and this one proved no different.  Fortunately, of course, the league had already been secured, otherwise the Reds might have found themselves needing a result in the final, tricky-looking game at Chelsea next week.  

United were much the better side in the first half but failed to make a breakthrough.  McTominay, Riley and Redmond all had good opportunities thwarted by Southampton keeper Gazzaniga. 

They were made to pay for this when Southampton took the lead just after half-time, Gallacher drilling a low shot past Johnstone.   Their second goal was gifted to them by United.  Johnstone attempted to punch away a free kick from the right but succeeded only in finding the head of McNair, from which the ball rebounded into his own net.

Fortunately, Gazzaniga was in equally generous mood at the other end, fumbling a cross that landed at the feet of United substitute Willock, who prodded home from close range.  

The Reds pushed for an equaliser and might have had one had the keeper not been in the mood to atone for his error.  He did brilliantly to get down low and get a stiff arm to a powerful McNair header to turn it aside.  When Redmond skied his volley in stoppage time it was the last chance in an entertaining second period that ended with United falling to a rare defeat at this level, albeit one that has come too late to deprive them of the title.

Marouane Fellaini - United Hero

There were some huge performances in the FA Cup semi-final win against Everton, and one from a player who, without which, we almost certainly wouldn't have won.  I speak not of the consistently magnificent De Gea or the phenomenon-in-the-making that is Anthony Martial, but of the too often unfairly maligned Marouane Fellaini.

In a way it was ironic that Fellaini produced his most important performance in a United shirt with Darren Gibson and Tom Cleverley in our opponents' line-up.  These two players were the big Belgian's predecessors as scapegoats among a section of United's support that has become particularly loathsome in recent years.  

I've never witnessed a more embarrassing moment at Old Trafford than when Gibson was booed when receiving his Premiership winner's medal - proof that this infantile tendency has not only taken root in the fallow post-Fergie period.  Cleverley then became a poster boy for the detractors who, during the brief reign of David Moyes, appeared to spend entire games poised to tweet some infantile, humourless nonsense following a single poor touch or stray pass.

It may be nostalgia, but I'm sure it was once never like this, that United fans at one time took a kind of special glee in celebrating players who wore our shirt that others had written off.  Diego Forlan, long before his famous brace against Liverpool saw him written into United legend, was always warmly appreciated by the United faithful, bemusing those in the media who only saw a forward who couldn't score goals.

It was the same with the young De Gea.  Although by that point social media had enabled the sit-at-home buffoons among the United 'support' to join in the bashing he was getting from those other buffoons in the established media, match-going Reds generally knew we had a world class keeper in the making and supported him through a difficult period adapting to the English game.

Fellaini, I understand, does not have the kind of skills that make him an automatic favourite among United fans.  Yet here is a player so committed to joining United he engineered his own release from Everton and drove down the M62 on deadline day in order to secure the move.  It says much for him that, having endured mockery and jeers from sections of the Old Trafford crowd ever since, he showed so much pride and commitment in a United shirt yesterday.  At one point late in the game he sprinted half the pitch in order to dispossess Lukaku.  Had he not, we might well have been the wrong ones on the end of a demoralising defeat yesterday.  And that's not even to mention the opening goal or the number of times his distinctive head rose in the box to deal with an Everton cross.

As it was, it was Fellaini's former club who finished the game with their heads in their hands, and he'd played a massive part in bringing it about.  If only his detractors who call themselves United fans could show that level of loyalty and commitment to the club. 

FA Cup Semi-Final: United 2 Everton 1

An entertaining FA Cup Semi-Final was decided dramatically in stoppage time when Anthony Martial scored the goal that sets up an FA Cup Final with Watford or Crystal Palace.

Earlier, what eventually turned into a highly competitive game had looked so easy.  Although United had to survive a couple of early scares when Lukaku broke through - thwarted first by a superb goal line clearance from Rooney and second by his own poor touch - they took the game to Everton in the first half and played with the kind of pace and creativity that's been all too absent for much of this season.  Rooney, excelling again in a deep role, was orchestrating play while Rashford and, in particular, Martial were running Everton's defenders ragged at times.

Everton might have felt they'd done enough to weather this early pressure when United took the lead.  Martial got to the line and cut back for Fellaini, whose finish was scruffy but effective.  The big Belgian also benefited from the Everton defence's inability to get tight on him in the area, another feature of a first half that the Reds dominated.

The only regret at half-time was that the Reds hadn't capitalised on that dominance to build a bigger lead.  That regret began to loom larger as a very different Everton emerged at half-time and a second half good enough to grace any FA Cup semi-final ensued.  

It was a harsh decision that sparked it off.  Fosu-Mensah was judged to have brought down Barkley when it was clear the young Dutchman had got the ball.  David De Gea, characteristically, simply saw that as his cue to get involved in the game: the keeper threw himself to his right to save Lukaku's spot kick for his umpteenth crucial save this season.

United were denied a more clear-cut penalty decision when Fellaini had his tap-in intercepted by Jagielka's arm.  Had the referee seen it, he would certainly have had to sent the defender off also.  The failure to give it looked like it might have serious consequences when substitute Deulofeu's cross into the box was deflected into his own goal by Smalling.

From there it could, in truth, have gone either way.  Martial's cross was inches away from finding Lingard's foot in the Everton area and De Gea once again saved superbly, managing also to steer the ball out of the path of the advancing Lukaku.  Fellaini then got back to produce the best tackle of the game and deny Everton what looked a likely winner.

Extra time looked a certainty when substitute Herrara's ball set Martial away through the middle and the Frenchman, who'd been his usual class act throughout the encounter, calmly stroked the ball past Joel to ensure that this hugely frustrating season will at least end with a trip back to Wembley and the FA Cup Final.

United 2 Crystal Palace 0

Perhaps it was simply that Palace had their forthcoming FA Cup semi-final in their minds, or perhaps United have belatedly rediscovered the knack of seeing off opposition like this in second gear.  Either way, this was a comfortable night's work for the Reds, who managed to carve out ten shots on target and, when the second goal had gone in, see the game out in a pleasingly unfussy manner.

United were gifted an early goal when Delaney turned the ball past his own keeper when apparently under no pressure.  It was the only goal of a first half in which United showed a level of comfort that's really been in evidence this season.  Only Speroni, making a rare appearance in the Palace goal this season, prevented the Reds from going into the break with the match already in the bag.  He denied Martial twice and kept out efforts from Rooney and Rashford to keep his side in contention despite United's dominance.

Rooney saw his effort from the edge of the area blocked early in the second half but the second goal wasn't long coming.  When it did, it was a goal of some quality from an unexpected source, Darmian crashing the ball in off the post from just outside the box.

The Reds didn't exactly down tools from there but, when Rashford was withdrawn to a deserved ovation, his liveliness around the box was clearly missed and, although United stroked the ball around Old Trafford with ease, few further chances were created and the emphasis was clearly on seeing the game out.

And, given the imminence of our own FA Cup semi-final, that was entirely understandable.  In the end, it was a composed performance from the Reds that keeps us on the shoulder of Arsenal and city in the race for those Champions League places.   Job done; now on to Wembley.