Manchester United edged Middlesbrough by a narrow margin yesterday as they mustered a dramatic comeback late in the second half.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic thought that he had given his team the lead in the first half but his goal was disallowed by referee Lee Mason for dangerous play. Manchester United continued to dominate the match with Ibrahimovic, Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all missing gilt-edged chances.

United were soon made to pay for their profligacy when Grant Leadbitter found the back of the net to give Middlesbrough the lead at Old Trafford. However, The Red Devils poured men forward towards the end of the match and mustered a brilliant comeback. They scored two goals in the space of two minutes and got a well-deserved victory - stretching their winning win in the Premier League to five games.

Let’s take a look at five things that we learnt from the New Year's Eve affair...

1. Anthony Martial Is Back To His Amazing Best

Anthony Martial was simply phenomenal against Middlesbrough. He gave the Boro defence - Calum Chambers in particular - all sorts of problems through his direct running, dribbling and superb crossing. He left Chambers chasing shadows throughout the match.

He struck the post with a long-range effort in the first half and delivered a couple of brilliant crosses into the box. He was rewarded for his sensational performance with a late goal.

Defenders Beware… Martial is back!

2. Referee Lee Mason Made Poor Decisions

Britain Football Soccer - Manchester United v Middlesbrough - Premier League - Old Trafford - 31/12/16 Manchester United's Zlatan Ibrahimovic speaks to referee Lee Mason after he scored a goal that was later disallowed Reuters / Andrew Yates Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Pl

Lee Mason had a mixed game at Old Trafford as he made a number of poor decisions throughout the match. He ruled out Ibrahimovic’s first half goal, insisting that Ibra had made contact with the goalkeeper before scoring. However, replays showed that Ibrahimovic made no contact with Victor Valdez before scoring. This led to round of boos from the home fans.

He also refused to award a penalty when Rashford was knocked down by Bernardo right in the 18-yard box.

3. Adama Traore Has Got Speed!

Britain Football Soccer - Manchester United v Middlesbrough - Premier League - Old Trafford - 31/12/16 Middlesbrough's Adama Traore in action with Manchester United's Daley Blind  Reuters / Andrew Yates Livepic EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 45 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representativ

Good grief, Traore has got some pace about him. He breezed past Blind on numerous occasions and the Dutchman just could not contain him. Middlesbrough’s game plan was simply to clear the ball into open space as soon as they received it, so that Traore could use his speed to beat the Man United backline to the ball.

This tactic worked really well for them as Traore created a couple of chances for the visitors.

4. Man United Struggling To Get Goals

We have seen so often this season that creating chances is not a problem for Man United. The main problem is to find the back of the net from these chances.

The Red Devils created many against Middlesbrough but they just couldn’t score until the 85th minute.

Manchester United have managed the same amount of goals as relegation-threatened Crystal Palace this season, just 29.

5. Pogba and Ibrahimovic Combine Again

The Pogba-Ibrahimovic partnership has been instrumental in Man United’s recent upturn in form and they showed their continued importance against Boro when Pogba’s long ball was flicked on by Ibrahimovic for Martial to score United’s equaliser.

Pogba also created a superb chance for Ibrahimovic early in the second half, only for Victor Valdez to deny the big Swede.