Manchester United vs Huddersfield 3rd January 2018 Old Trafford Full Time: 2-0 On an afternoon charged with emotion, it eventually fell to Romelu Lukaku and home debutant Alexis Sanchez to finally unpick a resolute, and, at times, robust Huddersfield defense to narrow the gap slightly at the top. Before kick-off, a minute silence was held for the 23 victims of the Munich Air Disaster, of which the 60th anniversary takes place this coming Tuesday, February 6th, 2018. Having started calamitously against Spurs just three days before, the Reds were anxious to avoid making similar mistakes as the Yorkshire side dug in to absorb the early pressure. Only the outstanding, hard-working Sanchez with a stinging low drive and Jesse Lingard with a weaker effort, caused any initial concern, although Scott McTominay - selected ahead of the dropped Paul Pogba- was flattened as he challenged for a cross and denied the penalty he deserved. Jose Mourinho's halftime talk seemed to spring the side to life and the subdued Lukaku was sharp and decisive, turning home an excellent cross from the hard-working Juan Mata. Not long after, Sanchez was brought down just inside the box and was given the opportunity to secure his first United goal in front of the Stretford End. He had missed three out of the last six spot-kicks he had taken for Arsenal and failed with this one too, although he had the good fortune to force the ball home after his initial shot was saved. Rashford, Martial, and a more relaxed Pogba were all brought on as the manager rang the changes and it was a shame to see other openings squandered before the visitors finally came out of their shell in the closing minutes, but to no avail. So the lead is down to 13 points with City drawing at Burnley - still a very tall order to claw back. Overall though, it was an improved performance in which Shaw, Mata Valencia, and Pogba were back in the groove, and hopefully, the Tottenham fade-out is well behind them now. Commentary by Lew Fink