Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku out to break Manchester United record against Crystal Palace
KEY POINTS
- The duo have combined to score six goals in the Premier League this season.
- One more will see them surpass a host of legendary club combinations.
Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku can set a new Premier League record for Manchester United if they combine to score again against Crystal Palace.
The duo have been United's most effective combination in attack this season having quickly developed an impressive understanding following the Belgium international's arrival from Everton last summer.
They combined once again in Sunday's [25 February] 2-1 victory over Chelsea with Martial sliding the ball into the striker's path to coolly slot past Thibaut Courtois in the Blues goal to give his side the lead.
Martial has provided five Premier League assists this term, three of them teeing up Lukaku. The 24-year-old striker been quick to return the favour, also assisting the France international three times in the league – freeing his teammate to score a vital winner away to Burnley at the start of the year.
Combining to score six league goals is a return good enough to equal the records set for a partnership at United in a single Premier League season.
Eight different combinations – including Eric Cantona and Ryan Giggs, Andy Cole and David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney – have hit that number in previous campaigns but Martial and Lukaku have nine more matches to break the record themselves.
United travel to Selhurst Park to take on Palace on Monday [5 February] where they could have the opportunity to break the club record.
The Martial-Lukaku duo is also the joint best partnership in the Premier League this term with Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta and Alvaro Morata, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino and Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne and Sergio Aguero all also combining to score six times this season.
Martial, who has been named the club's player of the month three times already this season, started 2018 by scoring three goals in the opening three games of the year. Lukaku meanwhile took his tally for the season to 21 with his strike against former club Chelsea.
