PL: Mateta brace downs United at Old Trafford, Spurs end winless run

Manchester, Feb 2 (IANS) Manchester United dropped points yet again the result of a second-half brace by Jean-Philippe Mateta, which saw Crystal Palace register a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.

The hour mark prompted the introduction of Eze from the bench for Palace – and his impact was immediate. Given the chance to take a deep free-kick, his lofted delivery towards the far post found Lacroix peeling around the back. The defender’s initial header was lofted superbly over Onana, but hit the bar – and with the ball bouncing down, Mateta scrambled home the rebound.

The afternoon got even better for Palace in the closing stages as Munoz broke the offside trap, in the 89th minute, latching on to Sarr's threaded ball down the right channel and squaring the ball for Mateta, who supplied another clinical close-range finish to beat Onana to double the score and seal the victory.

Man United will be worried about defender Lisandro Martinez clutching his knee as play had to be halted for several moments before the Argentinian was withdrawn on a stretcher and replaced by Matthijs de Ligt.

In the other game on Sunday, an excellent performance in west London saw Spurs end their winless run in the Premier League with a superb 2-0 victory against Brentford. Having taken the lead just before the half-hour through a Vitaly Janelt own goal, they dug deep and defended everything the Bees threw at the Tottenham defense with a solid display, before Pape Matar Sarr stepped off the bench to wrap up the win with the second goal in the 87th minute.

This was Spurs’ first-ever victory at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium, following three straight draws, and it was also their first win and clean sheet in the league for eight matches, since the 5-0 def Southampton on December 15. It was a thoroughly deserved result with some excellent defensive performances from the likes of Ben Davies, Archie Gray and Djed Spence

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