Just when Ruben Amorim must have thought his luck would never turn, Manchester United managed to inflict Crystal Palace’s first home defeat in the Premier League since February and end their own five-year wait for a victory at this ground after a first half when their opponents should have been out of sight.
Oliver Glasner’s side had been rampant and deservedly took the lead through Jean-Philippe Mateta’s retaken penalty but they could not make their dominance count. Having failed to score in four previous league meetings that included three defeats, like the proverbial London buses United struck back twice in nine minutes through Joshua Zirkzee – his first goal in the Premier League for almost a year – and Mason Mount to snatch the points.
It was a frustrating afternoon at the end of a long week for Glasner, who has been linked with United in the past and saw Ismaïla Sarr limp off with an ankle injury before half-time that the Palace manager expects could keep the Senegal forward sidelined until the start of the Africa Cup of Nations. His Portuguese counterpart kept his emotions in check as he headed down the tunnel after the final whistle but Amorim must have been beaming inside after a much-improved performance that means United move above Palace into seventh.
“I said to the players that we needed to be more alive. We can’t play like that in the Premier League,” said the United manager of their awful first-half display. “We had the feeling that if we score one goal, it’s going to change completely.”
Amorim had played down comparisons between his and Glasner’s tactical approach in the buildup, although he acknowledged that Palace “are just doing things better than us”. That was certainly the case in the first 45 minutes. But having responded to the lacklustre defeat against 10-man Everton on Monday by changing both wing-backs, United were much improved after the break and left the Palace manager wondering how they contrived to lose.
“Conceding two goals from set pieces makes it very frustrating,” said Glasner, whose side have still to record a league victory after a midweek Conference League group game. “It’s clearly our fault – we missed the chance to strengthen the squad in the summer. We knew the schedule, we knew Ismaïla would go to the Afcon, but nothing happened surprisingly. When you play the first time in your history, European football, let’s invest instead of save. We saved, and that’s what we are facing.”
United clearly sensed an opportunity to profit given they had three more days to prepare and almost went ahead after 43 seconds. A long throw caused chaos in the Palace area but the former United goalkeeper Dean Henderson produced a point-blank save on his goalline to deny Casemiro.
The close shave served as a wake-up call for Palace and the chances began to come thick and fast. After missing a hatful of chances on Thursday, Mateta twice dragged shots wide of the target inside the opening 15 minutes before the increasingly influential Adam Wharton – another of Palace’s assets coveted at Old Trafford – drilled straight at Senne Lammens following a corner.
But in a week when talks over Mateta’s contract extension have stalled, it was the France international who found the breakthrough. Another precise pass from Wharton lured Leny Yoro into a challenge and the 20-year-old could only bring down his compatriot inside the area. Mateta dispatched the penalty, only to be called back by the video assistant referee for an accidental double touch. A change in the laws in the summer now permits a retake if the original penalty is successful and Mateta made no mistake second time.
With Zirkzee hopelessly isolated in attack, United were powerless to respond and should have found themselves further behind at half-time. A last-ditch tackle from Luke Shaw blocked a shot from Yeremy Pino before the substitute Eddie Nketiah dawdled when clean through on goal and the chance was gone.
Henderson re-emerged in a baseball cap to shield his eyes from the low sun but he will be disappointed to have allowed United to equalise eight minutes after the restart. Palace were caught napping by a quick Bruno Fernandes free kick and Zirkzee was able to chest the ball down and swivel in the same movement to produce a shot that sailed into the far corner. He and the travelling United supporters could barely believe their eyes.
Having survived a goalmouth scramble where Zirkzee almost scored at the wrong end, United’s afternoon got even better a few minutes later when the Netherlands forward was brought down on the edge of Palace’s box by Marc Guéhi. There was a moment’s hesitation in the defensive wall when Fernandes rolled the free-kick to Mount and that allowed him to beat Henderson with a powerful drive.
Without Sarr’s pace to call on, Palace could barely muster another chance as United were able to see out a victory that could prove to be a turning point for Amorim.
