Report
Jean-Philippe Mateta was the hero for Crystal Palace as his brace earned a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Frenchman, who had missed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring in the first half, made no mistake with his first chance in the second as he was on hand to bundle in a rebound from close range in the 64th minute.
Mateta then made sure of the points with one minute remaining, neatly slotting Daniel Munoz’s low cross past Andre Onana to finish off a blistering counter-attack.
Kobbie Mainoo had struck a post early in the match for United, though the hosts looked unlikely to trouble Palace, who defended staunchly throughout.
Palace leapfrog United in the table, moving up to 12th on 30 points, while Ruben Amorim’s side now sit one point and one place below them.
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How the match unfolded
United made a bright start, with Mainoo seeing a deflected bouncing drive tipped onto a post by goalkeeper Dean Henderson seven minutes in.
Palace soon grew into the match though as Munoz thumped a header wide, while neither Ismaila Sarr nor Mateta could get a touch on Tyrick Mitchell’s cross.
Mateta looked to have found the breakthrough shortly before half-time, bursting through 1v1, but Onana tipped his dinked effort wide of the far post.
Henderson was again called into action early in the second half, pushing Bruno Fernandes’s strike wide before getting down to hold onto Manuel Ugarte’s low half-volley minutes later.
Palace substitute Eberechi Eze then had an almost instant impact as his free-kick was headed against the crossbar by Maxence Lacroix, with Mateta on hand to bundle in the rebound.
United pushed bodies forward late on in search of an equaliser and were punished on the break, with Munoz putting it on a plate for Mateta to help it past Onana.
United stumble again
It was a familiar story for Man Utd in many ways as not for the first time under Amorim, they struggled to find their finishing touch despite carving out some good opportunities.
Amorim chose not to start with a recognised striker, with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkee both starting on the bench, but United began brightly. Mainoo, playing as a “false nine”, linked up with Alejandro Garnacho to create two big openings early on.
However, for all their good play – Lisandro Martinez also saw a volley smothered by Palace’s stubborn defence – the Red Devils have now failed to score in the first half of a Premier League match for the 18th time this season.
United did step up their pressure after the break, with Fernandes finding more influence from his deeper midfield role, but they looked out of ideas on how to cut open their opponents, and their desperation for an equaliser ultimately cost them.
Amorim is still yet to win back-to-back Premier League matches since his appointment and has only two wins from seven in the competition at Old Trafford in that time, leaving him to go back to the drawing board before their trip to Tottenham Hotspur in two weeks time.
Eagles soar at Old Trafford
Oliver Glasner’s side would have fancied their chances of bouncing back from their defeat to Brentford, having won three of their last five visits to Old Trafford.
They quickly shook themselves off after a slow start and arguably should have been in the lead at half-time having nullified the United threat.
Palace remained happy to soak up the pressure in the second half, buoyed by their resolute first-half defensive showing.
They bided their time until Eze, who was a doubt for this match due to injury, was able to come on shortly after the hour.
Palace stepped up their attacking threat after his introduction. He was unfortunate not to get an assist after Lacroix hit the bar, and ran the United defence ragged, showcasing how shaky the hosts were at the back.
They did not panic despite Man Utd’s late attempts to push them back, and thanks to Mateta’s goals, they are now unbeaten in six Premier League fixtures on the road, though it is back to Selhurst Park next to face a resurgent Everton.
Report:EPL
Photos:Reuters and Getty Images via EPL
