This was a stunning comeback from Manchester United. Stunning because it was so improbable, stunning because it was ultimately undeserved, stunning because Nemanja Matic was the match-winner with a brilliant half-volley in injury-time – his first goal for the club – and stunning because Jose Mourinho simply went for it.
The furious United manager threw on more and more attacking players as he chased a game in which relegation-threatened Crystal Palace surged into a two-goal lead. At that point, if they had held on, they would have climbed up to 13th place. By the end they were still in the bottom three. No wonder their players slumped to the turf, spent, at the final whistle.
Mourinho deserves credit for the result which lifted his team back into second place and, more importantly, opened up a nine-point lead over his former club, Chelsea, who are in fifth. With nine games to go that is a daunting advantage to overhaul in the race to finish in the top four and secure Champions League football.
Mourinho acknowledged his team’s spirited comeback but, also, that they were lucky, castigating the childish way they had played at times. It summed up how disjointed and topsy-turvy they are as, even in victory, they were indebted again to goalkeeper David de Gea, who made another world-class save to scoop out a Christian Benteke header at 2-2.
“So many mistakes,” Mourinho said. Maybe it will be a watershed night. But it did not feel like it.
It was a long weekend without a game for Manchester United but they were finally back in action against Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Monday night.
And the wait for the game was definitely worth it - with Jose Mourinho and his team securing a fantastic 3-2 win over their South London opponents.
United were 2-0 down but mounted a superb comeback and won all three points with an added-time winner from Nemanja Matic to leapfrog Liverpool back into second place ahead of the big game against the Merseyside club at the weekend.
The only negative note was that Anthony Martial missed the game through injury and supporters will be hoping he will be back in the squad soon.
Marouane Fellaini, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Daley Blind, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Ander Herrera were also sidelined for the match.
Stick with us as we bring you all the reaction and highlights LIVE from Selhurst Park.
TRIBUNNEWS.COM - Manchester United nyaris saja buat Manchester City lebih cepat rengkuh gelar juara Liga Inggris.
Manchester United usai melewati pekan ke-29 Liga Inggrisdengan pertandingan dramatis.
United yang melawat ke Stadion Selhurst Park, markas Crystal Palace, harus menunggu hingga detik terakhir pertandingan untuk menangi laga.
Bermain mendominasi, Manchester United malah tertinggal dua gol hingga menit awal babak kedua berjalan.
TRIBUNNEWS.COM - Manchester United mengemban misi kembali posisi runner-up klasemen Liga Inggris dari tangan Liverpool FC.
Itu akan terjadi dalam lawatan ke markas Crystal Palace di Stadion Selhurst Park, London, pada Senin (5/3/2018) atau Selasa dini hari WIB.
Demi meraih kemenangan pada pertandingan tersebut, Manajer Jose Mourinho kembali melakukan perubahan pada susunan pemain, meski tetap mengandalkan skema 4-3-3.
Mourinho mencoba menempatkan Alexis Sanchez di sisi kanan serangan dan memilih memainkan Jesse Lingard di sayap kiri untuk melayani Romelu Lukaku sebagai ujung tombak.
Crystal Palace: 13-Wayne Hennessey, 5-James Tomkins, 34-Martin Kelly, 3-Patrick van Aanholt, 15-Jeffrey Schlupp, 29-Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 4-Luka Milivojevic, 18-James McArthur, 10-Andros Townsend, 9-Alexander Sorloth, 17-Christian Benteke
Manchester United: 1-David de Gea, 2-Victor Lindelof, 12-Chris Smalling, 18-Ashley Young, 25-Antonio Valencia, 31-Nemanja Matic, 6-Paul Pogba, 39-Scott McTominay, 14-Jesse Lingard, 7-Alexis Sánchez, 9-Romelu Lukaku
