Manchester United defeated fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace to cap off their preseason tour of Asia and Australia.
In the first of their two matches in Australia, Palace faced a formidable opponent, while United defeated Liverpool, Melbourne Victory, and Palace to make it a perfect 3 victories from 3 games. They faced a powerful United team without Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo but with David De Gea back in goal after resting against the Victory despite missing senior players Wilfried Zaha, Marc Guehi, and Eberechi Eze.
The Manchester team was cheered on by the 76,499-strong crowd, although Palace had more than a few thousand supporters in the stadium who made their voices heard at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
With the first opportunity of the game inside the first minute, Martial signaled United's early determination to attack, but his attempt flew high.
Martial was able to get past Palace's defense thanks to a beautiful through pass from Fred, but he fired his shot right into Jack Butland's extended glove.
Vieira decided to switch Butland out for Remi Matthews in the 14th minute when he hurt himself after Martial's shot, with less than 3 weeks till the Premier League opener.
United quickly seized the lead in the 18th minute after the restart. Martial was in the penalty area when Dalot lofted a beautiful ball there, and he handled it with poise before slotting it past Matthews to take the lead.
Malcolm Ebiowei was eager to respond, but De Gea stopped him with a skillfully executed shot at the near post.
The first half may not have seen much ball control for Palace, but each opportunity for a counterattack was seized. In the 27th minute, Rak-Sakyi received a lovely pass from Ebiowei and found room inside the box to get a shot off Harry Maguire.
Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Marcus Rashford each had opportunities at either end that raised concern for their respective teams, but neither of their goals rattled the goalkeepers.
Martial came close to doubling United's advantage in the 38th minute, but was unable to convert on Rashford's beautiful cross into the six-yard box.
Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Jadon Sancho helped United maintain their presence in the attacking half, and crowd favorite Harry Maguire was inches from a close-range goal.
Killian Phillips received the game's first caution for pulling down Scott McTominay during United's persistent assault on Palace's goal.
United again dominated possession to start the second half. McTominay was the only player changed, and he was replaced by Donny van der Beek.
United scored their first goal with an exquisitely executed team goal. Van der Beek was the recipient of a through ball from Sancho, and he exchanged passes with Martial before setting Rashford up for a goal-scoring opportunity. Stunning teamwork from United had them completely won over.
Martial kept on United's stellar performance from the first half. Van der Beek's opening effort of the contest was a dribble on the left side of the penalty area that was squared through Fernandes' knees.
Players began to argue following the second yellow card of the game. Bruno Fernandes was put in the dock after being challenged by Jordan Ayew. A few shoves were delivered after Fred defended Fernandes, but not enough to call any more cards.
In the 59th minute, Ayew and Mateta combined to leave United's defenders in their wake, giving Palace its first significant chance of the game. Mateta's attempt lacked enough force to concern the United goalie, but De Gea was more than up to the challenge.
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