Man United edge Palace 2-1 to end winless run

Manchester United ended their winless run with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, recovering from last week’s bruising home defeat to Everton and breathing new life into their chase for Champions League football.

United were fortunate to trail by only one at halftime after Jean Philippe-Mateta converted a penalty that capped Palace’s dominant first-half display.

The hosts could easily have gone into the break three goals ahead, but wasteful finishing kept United in the contest.

In a match reported by ESPN, Joshua Zirkzee hauled United level shortly after the restart with a superb finish from a tight angle — his first league goal of the season and only his fourth for the club.

The equaliser injected belief into Erik ten Hag’s side, who had been comfortably second-best for most of the game.

Their winner came from an unlikely source. Mason Mount, still searching for rhythm after an injury-hit spell, struck brilliantly into the bottom corner from a Bruno Fernandes lay-off following a free kick at the edge of the Palace area.

The goal flattened the home crowd and drained the spark from Palace’s earlier display.

Palace never regained their first-half verve and struggled to create meaningful chances as the clock wound down, even as late pressure saw Casemiro concede a dangerous free kick on the edge of the box.

Devenny’s effort slammed into the wall, ending their hopes of salvaging a point.

The win lifts Manchester United above Palace into sixth place, just a point outside the Champions League positions.

It is only their second away victory in 12 attempts — and their first at Selhurst Park in more than five years — giving Ten Hag a much-needed boost after last week’s “horror show,” as fans had described it.

Warning! All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express permission from ZAMBIA MONITOR.