Martial hat-trick seals Man United win as Liverpool edge closer to EPL title

June 24, 2020 10:49 pm

Anthony Martial scored a hat-trick to help Manchester United stroll to a comfortable 3-0 win over Sheffield United, while Liverpool put four goals past Crystal Palace on Wednesday to edge closer towards an inevitable English Premier League title.

At Old Trafford, Martial scored twice in the first half and added a third goal in the second period. The Frenchman’s hat-trick is the first by a Manchester United player in the EPL since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Man United manager, started the duo of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba, while Mason Greenwood was also handed a rare start.

It was Martial who surprisingly stole the show, dispatching crosses from Marcus Rashford and Aaron Wan Bissaka in the sixth and 43rd minutes respectively.

His third goal was the pick of the bunch, trading one-two passes with Rashford before providing a dunked effort over the on-rushing goalkeeper for his 12th goal of the season, his highest in a season since joining the Red Devils.

…Liverpool on the cusp of EPL title with win

It was a return to the old Liverpool as the Anfield club routed Crystal Palace 4-0, with one goal apiece from Mohammed Salah and Saido Mane, their African superstars.

Salah latched on to Fabinho’s lofted pass to stroke into the net on 44 minutes for a 2-0 scoreline at the interval after Trent Alexander-Arnold had earlier opened scoring with an expertly dispatched a freekick.

The Egyptian King also provided the assist for Mane to score the fourth goal with a well placed shot slotted into the bottom corner.

Following the win, Jurgen Klopp’s side will become EPL champions if Manchester City fail to defeat Chelsea on Thursday.

…Iwobi dazzles in Everton win, Ighalo gets game time

Odion Ighalo played the last ten minutes of the match at Old Trafford and the 31-year-old Nigerian almost made it count. His shot from a Juan Mata cross was diverted for a corner kick by the Sheffield United goalkeeper.

Alex Iwobi, however, had one of his best games for Everton in their 1-0 win away at Norwich City. The former Arsenal youngster was on the pitch for 90 minutes and proved to be a thorn in the flesh of the home side.

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