Manchester United staged a gritty second-half revival at Selhurst Park, overturning a poor opening display to beat Crystal Palace 2–1 thanks to Mason Mount’s emphatic late strike, sparing manager Ruben Amorim another round of intense scrutiny.
Mount smashed home from a rehearsed set-piece routine, fed cleverly by Bruno Fernandes, completing a comeback that looked unthinkable after a dismal first 45 minutes in which United created virtually nothing and were lucky to be only one goal down.
Just moments earlier, Joshua Zirkzee had broken a year-long Premier League scoring drought with a brilliant finish from an almost impossible angle, igniting the comeback United desperately needed.
Before the interval, United were a shadow of themselves. Amorim’s side were passive, sluggish and overrun, generating a shockingly low 0.01 xG from open play in a half that left their manager openly frustrated afterwards.
Palace, sharper and more aggressive, carved Manchester United apart repeatedly.
Dean Henderson had already denied Casemiro early on, but the real blow came when Leny Yoro, in a moment symbolic of United’s sloppiness, clattered into Jean-Philippe Mateta inside the box.
Mateta initially sent Senne Lammens the wrong way, only for VAR to rule he touched the ball twice during his swing. Made to retake, the Palace striker repeated the trick and converted again — the difference United’s chaotic defending fully deserved.
More danger followed. Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw were forced into heroic blocks to prevent Palace racing further ahead.
At half-time, Amorim appeared visibly tense, pacing alone in the tunnel before addressing his faltering squad. He knew another performance like their limp loss to 10-man Everton on Monday would be intolerable.
Whatever he said, it sparked a transformation.
United returned from the break with renewed purpose.
The breakthrough came through Zirkzee, who manufactured a goal from nothing, firing from a near impossible angle to level the match and force belief back into a team that looked drained just minutes earlier. It was the turning point — the jolt United needed.
From there, United took control, despite still creating few clear chances. When the opportunity arrived, they took it.
A clever, choreographed set-piece saw Fernandes roll the ball into the path of Mount, who rifled a precise finish into the far corner for just his second goal of the campaign.
United’s bench erupted. Palace’s hopes evaporated.
The win lifted Manchester United into sixth place, leapfrogging Palace, who were denied a chance to break into the top four.
Amorim also became the first United manager to win at Selhurst Park since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2020.
While the victory was crucial, it exposed a concerning trend: United’s Jekyll-and-Hyde nature from half to half.
Amorim’s men look like a different side depending on how they start. When they score early — which happened eight times in their first 11 league matches — they thrive.
When they concede early, lapses, hesitancy and chaos creep in.
The comeback at Selhurst Park eased immediate pressure — but it also highlighted how much work still lies ahead.
