Manchester United came from behind to earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
It was a difficult battle for Man United, who produced a gutsy performance to come out on top at Selhurst Park against an in-form Palace side.
First half
Seven minutes in, the hosts came close to scoring when Jean-Phillipe Mateta took a shot at goal that breezed into the side netting. While Senne Lammens had it covered, he was relieved not to have to make a save.
Moments later, United won a free kick in Palace’s final third. Bruno Fernandes did well to pick out Casemiro, but his header skidded wide.
From that moment on, it seemed to be end-to-end action, with both sides attempting quick counter-attacking motions.
Off a long throw by Palace, the ball found Adam Wharton in the centre of the box. While dangerous, Wharton’s strike was impressively caught by Lammens.
In the 17th minute, Bryan Mbeumo received a yellow card after he angrily threw the ball into the ground after a decision by the referee went against him.
Mateta broke through United’s defence, getting on the end of a lob with Leny Yoro holding onto him from behind. The Palace striker would have been disappointed as his shot veered agonisingly wide.
24 minutes in, Wharton drove a long ball up to Ismail Sarr on the right, who picked out Daichi Kamada in the centre with a short pass. Yet again, Lammens rose to the occasion, stopping Kamada’s close-range shot.
In the 33rd minute, disaster struck. Yoro put out a leg to stop Mateta, only for the Palace striker to collapse in the box. Penalty to Palace.
Mateta struck his penalty well, sending Lammens the wrong way as he buried his shot coolly in the back of the net.
Suddenly, after all the celebrations, the penalty had to be retaken. VAR found that Mateta double-touched the ball, meaning that the penalty would need to be retaken.
Yet again, Mateta sent Lammens in the wrong direction, with the goal standing the second time around. 1-0 to Palace.
United struggled to establish any sort of control for the remainder of the half, with their passing appearing scrappy as the team looked disorganised. Still, with five minutes of stoppage time, there was ample time left to find a late equaliser right before the break.
Just as it seemed that Eddie Nketiah had broken through the defence, Luke Shaw came to the rescue. Despite being two-on-one, Shaw did well to produce a slide tackle to block Nketiah’s shot, thereby allowing his team to recover.
1-0, the score remained as the referee blew the whistle for half-time. It was an underwhelming performance so far from United, who clearly needed to bring more energy and focus to the game in order to turn things around.
Second half
Coming out of the gate, United had a quiet confidence about them. Although Palace dominated the ball, Amorim’s side defended well, keeping their composure.
Just nine minutes into the half, United’s change in attitude paid off. They won an opportune free-kick when Diogo Dalot was fouled by Nketiah. With his cross, Fernandes picked out Joshua Zirkzee, who moved ahead of the near post to collect the ball. Despite being heavily marked and at a tight angle, the forward looked calm and collected, hammering a thunderous shot past the keeper and into the net to hand United an equaliser in the most fashionable way.
Suddenly, the contest appeared to be back on following that fiery Zirkzee goal.
In the 55th minute, Noussair Mazraoui came on to replace Leny Yoro. It wasn’t the best performance from the bright young starlet. Perhaps some rest would do him well.
In the 63rd minute, United struck again from another free kick. Fernandes sneakily tapped the ball to Mason Mount, who struck his shot low and hard under the wall to catch Dean Henderson off guard. 2-1 to United.
With 14 minutes left on the clock, Mbeumo received the ball from Zirkzee, dribbling into the box and shooting only for the keeper to make a respectable save.
In the 82nd minute, Lisandro Martinez marked his return from injury, coming on to replace Shaw. A chorus of cheers greeted the defender as United fans expressed their elation at his return.
A minute later, Mbeumo sought out a goal yet again, whipping in a shot from outside the box that just curled past the top of the far post.
As four minutes of stoppage time were announced, Amorim made a double switch. Kobbie Mainoo and Patrick Dorgu came on for Mbeumo and Amad.
While Palace earned a free-kick on the edge of the box following a Casemiro foul, the wall blocked the shot, allowing the referee to blow the full-time whistle on a thrilling tie.
United could be proud of themselves for showing the determination needed to overcome the odds and a deficit away from home to come away with a crucial three points.
Starting XI: Lammens, Shaw, De Ligt, Yoro, Dalot, Fernandes, Casemiro, Amad, Mount, Mbeumo, Zirkzee
Subs: Mazraoui, Martinez, Dorgu, Mainoo
Featured image JWarren Little via Getty Images
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