Your Monday Briefing: 9 key points for Reds

1: UNITED 2 CHELSEA 1
That was the score at Old Trafford, where the Reds fell behind to Willian’s goal before fighting back with finishes from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard that secured an important Premier League win. The result has lifted Jose Mourinho’s men back into second place - after temporarily slipping down to third due to Liverpool’s victory over West Ham on Saturday -while also building a six-point advantage over Antonio Conte’s reigning champions. There are now just 10 top-flight games left to play.

2: LUKAKU STOLE THE SHOW
Romelu notched his 22nd goal of the season during the first half and supplied an excellent assist for Jesse’s headed winner after the break, which was enough to earn 73 per cent of votes in our Man of the Match poll on Twitter. It was a near-perfect performance from the Belgian striker, whose impact on so-called big matches had been questioned ahead of kick-off against his former club.

Jose Mourinho praised him afterwards and, later, when asked about his own scoring record with the Reds, Lukaku told us: “It's not bad, but you can always improve. I want to do better for the team. At the end of the day, I'm at Manchester United and I want to win trophies.”

Impressively, Lukaku has now scored against his three former teams – Everton, West Bromwich Albion and Chelsea – during his increasingly prolific debut season with United.

3: RESPECT BETWEEN MANAGERS 
Friday’s pre-match press conference was peppered with questions about the rivalry in the dugout, but Mourinho rose above it and instead pointed to the competition on the pitch. Maintaining that theme, Jose was quick to shake Conte’s hand before the game and even shared a joke with the Italian. Another handshake followed at full-time and the outing passed without incident.

4: ROONEY IN THE STAND
Wayne, the club’s all-time leading scorer, watched the big game from the Director’s Box with his young son Kai and TV cameras regularly panned to them throughout the action. It was a rest day for the now Everton forward, following the Toffees’ disappointing 1-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday.

 

Wayne Rooney is in the stands. The King of Old Trafford. Legend. #mufc pic.twitter.com/AeZirYxQUN

— David. (@PeakRooney) February 25, 2018

 

5: LAUNCHING ON YOUTUBE
Viewers of Sunday’s game will have noticed the club’s new channel on YouTube was branded all over the stadium, with a giant banner spread across the East Stand window, a circular flag laid on the centre-circle and adverts played on the digital boards around the pitch. Have you subscribed to it yet? It only launched on Thursday afternoon and, already, almost 400,000 fans signed up.

6: DEBATE ON NATIONAL SERVICE
Scott McTominay enjoyed a week to remember after impressing against Sevilla and Chelsea, and on Saturday night it was revealed Mourinho has advised the talented youngster on his international future due to the 21-year-old being eligible to represent England or Scotland. “I gave him my advice but I think the parents’ advice is more important than mine,” the manager explained.

7: UNDER-18S THRASHED EVERTON
The young Reds consolidated their place at the summit of the Premier League table with a resounding 4-1 victory over second-placed Everton at the Aon Training Complex. Mason Greenwood grabbed two of the goals with Largie Ramazani and James Garner also finding the net, inspiring MUTV pundit Arthur Albiston to describe it as the “best performance of the season” so far.

8: SEVILLA LOST AT HOME
Our UEFA Champions League last-16 opponents, who will visit Old Trafford on 13 March, suffered a surprisingly one-sided 5-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in La Liga at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Diego Simeone’s visitors were impressively five goals up after strikes from Diego Costa, Antoine Griezmann (3) and Koke, before the hosts pulled two late finishes back via P Sarabia and Nolito.

9: THREE LOAN PLAYERS IN ACTION
Tim Fosu-Mensah made another start for Crystal Palace, our next opponents in the Premier League, but the young Dutchman could not prevent a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at Selhurst Park, where the world’s in-form striker Harry Kane scored a winning goal with just minutes left to play.

Sam Johnstone started for Aston Villa in their 4-2 Championship win at Sheffield Wednesday, where Axel Tuanzebe did not feature, while James Wilson was not involved in Sheffield United’s 1-0 loss at Hull City. In Spain, Andreas Pereira did not feature for Valencia in their 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.

In Scotland, Demetri Mitchell made his eighth Hearts appearance and was booked in a 2-0 loss to Rangers. Matty Willock and Charlie Scott did not play for St Johnstone and Hamilton, respectively.