After a disastrous home defeat to Everton on Monday night, Manchester United bounced back to victory with a successful comeback at Crystal Palace.
Ruben Amorim joked that Manchester United are taking advantage of weeks without European football to “steal” set-piece ideas after snatching a rare win at Selhurst Park. And the Reds were able to pull off a daylight heist on Thursday night against a tired Crystal Palace side who had lost in the Conference League.
Joshua Zirkzee scored his first Premier League goal in a year and Mason Mount took Manchester United’s dead-ball goals tally to 10 in 13 games this season. Both came from captain Bruno Fernandes’ assists from free kicks. And after the disastrous first half, the Portuguese coach said his year in English football had taught him the importance of set-piece goals.
“We work hard,” Amorim said. “In England you have more time to work, you work more, you learn more. I think you’re used to seeing that, but when you come to the Premier League you learn how to do things from other teams and you steal a lot to score goals.”
read more: Joshua Zirkzee has taken on a new role at Manchester United that no one expected.read more: Manchester United’s next five games after the Crystal Palace win compared to Liverpool and Tottenham
Selhurst Park has been a bogey field for the Old Trafford club, with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial the scorers in their last win in south London during the pandemic in July 2020. And when Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a penalty after 32 minutes, it looked like that terrible losing streak would continue.
United target Adam Wharton found the France striker with a brilliant reverse pass and Lenny Yolo beat the Palace striker with a clumsy challenge. Mateta converted the spot-kick on his second attempt after VAR ordered a retake after an accidental double touch, but Palace had other chances to seal the home victory.
Palace had chances to seal victory in the first half and in Monday’s loss to Everton as Amorim’s side looked as lethargic as they did last season. But he inspired his players to finally get their game going after the break as the FA Cup holders raised their flag as they kicked off just 62 hours after the defeat in Strasbourg.
“I told the players we need to be more lively,” Amorim said. “They were getting tired towards the second half so we talked about that and again, the pace, the intensity in the first half, you don’t play like that in the Premier League.
“So we increased it and we had the feeling that if we scored one goal, things would change completely.”
The goal came 54 minutes later. Fernandes chipped the free-kick forward, Zirkzee controlled the ball with his chest and fired a left-footed shot past former Manchester United goalkeeper Dean Henderson. It was Zirksee’s first Premier League goal since December 1 last year, and his first in the competition since April.
“It feels great. It always feels good to score a goal, but the most important thing is that it got us back in the game,” said the injury-hit Dutchman.
Amorim said Zirksee’s performance exemplifies United’s growth.
“It was really important,” the Reds manager said. “But it wasn’t just the goals, it was also the goals conceded. In the first half he struggled with duels, but in the second half he won some duels. In the second half we improved a lot because of Josh’s quality. It’s important that he understands that. It’s not just the goals. We were able to play better because Josh played better in the second half.”
In the 63rd minute, Fernandes fired a short ball from a free kick that Mount smashed through the rough walls of the Palace to score the winning goal.
It was Eagle’s first home defeat in the Premier League since February 15, as Oliver Glasner, who also plays in a 3-4-3, failed his audition to become Manchester United’s new manager next season.
Instead, Amorim took a big step towards qualifying for Europe and staying at Old Trafford next season, seeing his team win for the first time this season in London.
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