Crystal Palace 2-3 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

Manchester United overturned a two-goal deficit as Nemanja Matic’s fantastic long-range strike in injury time sealed victory over a crestfallen Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Andros Townsend’s deflected strike gave Roy Hodgson’s side a deserved lead at the interval. The Eagles doubled their lead as Jeffrey Schlupp’s quick free-kick sent Patrick van Aanholt through, the latter beating a rooted David de Gea at his near post.

Chris Smalling’s header from Antonio Valencia’s cross started the comeback and Lukaku soon followed it up with a neat finish after Alexis Sanchez’s initial shot hit the crossbar via a wicked deflection.

The game was wide open since and both teams had chances to win it. However, it was Nemanja Matic’s fierce strike from nearly 30 yards out in injury-time that beat a diving Wayne Hennessey and sent Manchester United fans into raptures.

The result restores United’s second place in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s high-profile clash with Liverpool, while a heartbroken Palace remains in the relegation zone.

Here are the talking points from a memorable encounter in South London:

#1 Palace are rewarded for their bright start

Fighting for Premier League survival, it was no surprise to see Roy Hodgson’s side starting on the front-foot.

The midfield of Luka Milivojevic and James McArthur distributed the ball well, with the former’s pass setting up Andy Townsend’s goal.

Christian Benteke was showing glimpses of the footballer that had made him such an attractive prospect in his Aston Villa days – winning headers, driving the ball forward and also helping his team out in defence with a goal-line clearance.

The fullbacks Wan-Bissaka and Patrick van Aanholt were clearly playing to Benteke’s strengths, showing intent going forward and delivering good crosses.

The opening goal was a just reward for Palace’s positivity as Benteke was allowed to cut in across the box before squaring the ball to Townsend, whose first-touch shot found the far corner, albeit a deflection off Victor Lindelof.

Defensively, Palace was very narrow in the first-half and allowed United no room to make an opening through the middle.

Lukaku was left frustrated by the Palace centre-halves and Paul Pogba and Sanchez were repeatedly forced into giving the ball away in an attempt to make the final intricate pass.

All went to plan for Roy Hodgson in the opening 45 minutes.

#2 Individual mistakes peg United back in the first half

Pogba had a forgettable first-half

Manchester United were slow and sloppy in the first half and it was all down to individual errors that led them to their predicament of being down at the break.

Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof were struggling as a centre-back pair – not for the first time this season – as Alex Sorloth’s movement and Benteke’s physical presence proved a handful for them to deal with.

Smalling’s decision to stand off Benteke as he was moving across the penalty area resulted in conceding the first goal as the Belgian was able to easily lay the ball off to Townsend.

Pogba’s passing was shocking in the first half, as was his intention to play a defensive role with Matic and Scott McTominay already present in midfield.

Sanchez’s tendency to take too many touches on the ball led him to give away possession on countless occasions.

With the Eagles playing narrowly, United was expected to attack from the wide areas, failing to do so until Marcus Rashford’s introduction in the second half provided the needed width.

United had clearly dug a hole for themselves with a non-performance in the first half but eventually managed to turn the tie in their favour with a much-improved second-half display.

#3 Marcus Rashford’s introduction swings the game in United’s favour

Impact sub

With Scott McTominay struggling to cope with a physically powerful Palace team and already on a yellow card he received in the first half, Jose Mourinho hauled him off at the interval and replaced him with Rashford.

The move immediately paid dividends, as the 20-year old slalomed his way towards the left byline and posed the first real threat to Wayne Hennessey’s goal.

United looked reluctant to use the flanks in the first half and Rashford’s introduction galvanized the visitors almost instantly.

Despite conceding the second goal to quick Palace thinking early in the second half, United was in the ascendancy and one could sense that the comeback was truly on.

Rashford’s intensity helped Antonio Valencia find his feet in the game, as he too began surging up the pitch and putting in crosses, one of which perfectly found the head of Chris Smalling to halve the deficit.

The rejig in personnel late in the game – with Luke Shaw replacing Ashley Young and Lingard replacing Valencia at right-back to accommodate Juan Mata – put United in the driver’s seat.

Rashford gave young wan-Bissaka a hard outing on one wing, while van Aanholt was mainly resorting to defensive duties against the pace of Lingard and Mata’s inward approaches.

#4 United’s gain, Chelsea’s pain?

Chelsea's mistake?

A hard worker, nerve-settler and now, a brilliant finisher – these have been Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic’s attributes this season for Manchester United, especially in the encounter at Selhurst Park.

He brought that calming influence to United after they fell behind, slotting in as a third centre-back to help soak up Palace pressure during set-pieces and getting in the way of crosses floating in the direction of Benteke and Alex Sorloth in a centre-forward position.

In the second half, he had a wider range of passing options to consider as Rashford and Valencia, followed by Rashford and Lingard, began dominating the wings.

His stunning strike to win the game for the visitors at the death was the icing on the cake for a professionally exceptional display by the Serbian.

Chelsea’s decision to sell the ex-Benfica man to United last summer poses more questions than answers for their management.

While United march on in their quest to qualify for the automatic Champions League spots thanks to Matic’s consistent performances, his replacement at Chelsea in Tiemoue Bakayoko has failed to adapt to the physical demands of the Premier League so far.

The Frenchman has not been in action since his sending off after 30 minutes in Chelsea’s 4-1 humbling at Watford last month.

On the other hand, Matic continues to show why he is such an invaluable asset to United’s progress under Jose Mourinho with a series of disciplined and purposeful performances in front of the defence.

#5 Palace must triumph in crucial moments if they are to secure survival

In trouble!

Crystal Palace contributed massively to a wonderful game and can feel hard-done-by the final result, but these are days which prove that concentration and focus in key moments- set-pieces and playing the offside trap- could well be the difference between 3 points and nothing, irrespective of the overall display.

For United’s goal, there was no Palace player marking either Smalling or Pogba at the far post as Valencia played the lofted pass.

To compound matters, centre-back James Tomkins was wandering ahead of his defensive line, resulting in him playing both Smalling and Pogba onside as the ball came in.

For the equalizer, there was no Palace defender willing to challenge Lukaku as the Belgian striker took his time to wait for the perfect moment before swinging his left foot to beat Wayne Hennessey.

Benteke’s header with the game at 2-2 was brilliantly saved by de Gea, but the Belgian should have targeted his shot towards either corner after doing everything right – the timing of the jump to beat Smalling in the air as well as the power on the header.

The hosts’ performance on Monday proved that the team definitely possesses the desire and the quality to survive the drop despite a lengthy injury list, but it is the team’s response in crucial moments like these that may ultimately decide their fate in the remaining 9 games of the season.